Sarajevo Film Festival's bloghttps://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival
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enCineLink Selection 2012 Announcedhttps://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/cinelink_selection_2012_announced
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CineLink 2012 call for entries attracted over 80 projects in development from 18 different countries in Southeastern Europe. Our selection committee selected 17 projects altogether for the CineLink and the CineLink + lineups, criteria being respective authors potential and strength of the story on one side and potential benefit for the project from our development workshops and the coproduction market on the other.
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CineLink project, the backbone of the festival's Industry Section, is a development and financing platform for carefully selected local feature projects destined for European co-production. With average conversion rate of its selected projects from development to production of over 60% in the past 9 years, CineLink grew into one of the most successful development and financing platforms in Europe. Films developed trough CineLink are now almost regulary part of prestigious festivals selections and distribution catalogues around the world. Selection and diversification in development are central to this success, while focus on local productions with international potential, emerging talent and modern cinematic language proved essential to the program's raising profile in the film industry.
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Eight projects selected in the CineLink lineup will participate in the Project Development Workshop organized in collaboration with the Binger Filmlab and Croatian Audiovisual Center, where the directors and producers will work on the scripts as well as the financial, legal and marketing aspects of their projects.
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Nine projects selected in the CineLink Plus lineup will be presented directly at the CineLink Co-Production Market during the Sarajevo Film Festival in July.
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Projects presented in both line-ups are eligible for CineLink Development Awards totalling EUR 50.000 in cash and services, courtesy of our partners and sponsors: ARTE, CNC (Centre national de la cinematographie), Eurimages and Synchro Film and Video.
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<b>CINELINK PROUDLY PRESENTS:<br />
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<b>CineLink Selection 2012<br />
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A BLAST
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Writers: Syllas Tzoumerkas and Youla Boudali
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Director: Syllas Tzoumerkas
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Producer: Maria Drandaki
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Greece
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BRIDES
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Writer / Director: Tinatin Kajrishvili
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Producer: Tinatin Kajrishvili
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Georgia
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COWBOYS
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Writer / Director: Tomislav Mršić
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Producer: Suzana Pandek
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Croatia
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A GOOD WIFE
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Writers / Directors: Mirjana Karanović &amp; Stevan Filipović
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Producer: Snezana Penev
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Serbia
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LIGNITE
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Writer: Effi Gavrilou
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Director: Gregory Rentis
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Producer: Maria Tsigka
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Greece
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MEN DON'T CRY
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Writer / Director: Alen Drljević
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Producer: Damir Ibrahimović
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Bosnia and Herzegovina
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PANAMA
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Writer: Pavle Vučković &amp; Jelena Vuksanović
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Director: Pavle Vučković
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Producer: Tatjana Žeželj
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Serbia
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THE MINER
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Writer / Director: Hanna A. W. Slak
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Producer: Dunja Klemenc
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Slovenia
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<b>CineLink Plus Selection 2012<br />
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4 BLOWS
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Writer / Director: Peter Kerek
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Producer: Anca Puiu
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Co-Producer: Alexander Wadouh
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Romania
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CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN
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Writer / Director: Gabriel Dettre
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Producers: Viktor Huszar &amp; Ferenc Pusztai
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Hungary
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DUST CLOTH
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Director: Ahu Öztürk
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Producers: Çiğdem Mater &amp; Nesra Gürbüz
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Turkey
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FATHER
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Writer / Director: Visar Morina
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Producers: Jonas Katzenstein &amp; Maximilian Leo &amp; Visar Krusha
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Kosovo/Germany
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QUIET PEOPLE
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Writer / Director: Ognjen Sviličić
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Producer: Damir Terešak
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Croatia
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S.K.
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Writers: Laszlo Nemes &amp; Clara Royer
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Director: Laszlo Nemes
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Producer: Gabor Sipos, Gabor Rajna
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Hungary
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SOUTH FACING WALL
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Writer / Director: Kutlug Ataman
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Producer: Kutlug Ataman
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Co-Producer: Sezgi Ustun - Zeynofilm
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Turkey
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THAT TRIP WE TOOK WITH DAD
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Writer / Director: Anca Miruna Lazarescu
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Producer: Verona Meier
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Romania/Germany
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THERE, OUTSIDE
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Writer / Director: Emre Yeksan
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Producer: Ozgur Dogan
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Turkey
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/cinelink_selection_2012_announced#commentsAlen DrljevićAlexander WadouhAmsterdam School of the ArtsArteBinger FilmlabBinger FilmlabCineLink Selection 2012 AnnouncedCinema of the NetherlandsClara Royerco-producerCroatian Audiovisual CenterDirectorDunja KlemencEffi GavrilouEntertainmentEntertainmentEuropeGabor RajnaGabor SiposGabriel DettreGeorgiaGermanyGregory RentisHanna A. W. SlakJelena VuksanovićJonas KatzensteinKosovoLaszlo NemesMaria DrandakiMaria TsigkaMaximilian LeoMinerMirjana KaranovićPavle VučkovićPeter KerekProducerRomaniaS.K.Snezana PenevSoutheastern EuropeStevan FilipovićTatjana ŽeželjTechnologyTechnologythe Sarajevo Film FestivalTomislav MršićVeronaViktor Huszarwriterwriter / directorFri, 20 Apr 2012 10:28:02 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival161292 at https://www.filmfestivals.comSarajevo Talent Campus Call for Entries 2012https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/sarajevo_talent_campus_call_for_entries_2012
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New call for entries for emerging filmmakers from Southeast Europe to participate in Sarajevo Talent Campus held within the framework of the 18th Sarajevo Film Festival is open from the 15th of March 2012.
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Application deadline is the<b> 8th of May, 2012</b>.
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Sarajevo Talent Campus, the educational and networking platform for emerging filmmakers from Southeast Europe, was launched in 2007 in cooperation with Berlin International Film Festival and Berlinale Talent Campus. The programme offers inspiring lectures, panel discussions, and active critical debates, complemented by workshops, practical tutorials, screenings and inter-festival excursions for participants.
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The 6th Sarajevo Talent Campus, taking place from the 8th to the 14th of July, will be inviting scriptwriters, directors, actors and producers. Moreover, for the first time, Sarajevo Talent Campus will introduce a training program for young film critics. As of this year, the participation in Sarajevo Talent Campus is open to candidates from four more countries from the wider region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldavia in addition to: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey.
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CINEMA AND POSSIBLE FUTURES will be the underlying focus of the 6th STC. The creators of today’s world of cinema will talk the future to emerging filmmakers, not only from the aspect of social and technological changes happening so rapidly right before our eyes, but the myriad of possibilities that those changes bring with them.
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The 6th edition of the Sarajevo Talent Campus will gather up-and-coming film professionals from the “ever burning” and vibrant region of South-East Europe. Prominent filmmakers and emerging talents from this region will meet to discuss, analyze and explore film language novelties and different practices. They will come to terms with the changing, dynamic times, and possible futures within, as they will reach a better understanding of the medium of film.
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Please find more information and application form at www.sff.ba
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/sarajevo_talent_campus_call_for_entries_2012#comments2nd millenniumAzerbaijanBerlin International Film FestivalBerlin International Film FestivalBerlinale Talent CampusBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCDATACINEMA AND POSSIBLE FUTURESContact DetailsCroatiaEast EuropeEntertainmentEntertainmentEuropeFilm festivalGeorgiaGreeceHerzegovinaHungaryKatrin Cartlidge FoundationKosovoMacedoniaMontenegroPolitical geographyRomaniaSarajevoSARAJEVOSarajevo Talent CampusSerbiaSloveniaSoutheast Europethe 18th Sarajevo Film FestivalTurkeywww.sff.baFESTIVALSThu, 15 Mar 2012 11:31:23 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival158565 at https://www.filmfestivals.comCineLink Call for Entries Extended!https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/cinelink_call_for_entries_extended
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New call for entries for filmmakers from Southeast Europe to participate in the CineLink Project Development Workshop and Co-Production Market held within the framework of the Sarajevo Film Festival is opened from the 1th of December 2011.
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New deadline for project submissions is 12th of March 2012.
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CineLink project, the backbone of the Sarajevo Film Festival's Industry Section, is a development and financing platform for carefully selected local feature projects destined for European co-production.
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Most promising projects from Southeast Europe are selected every year by the selection committee focusing on authentic stories with international potential, emerging talent and modern cinematic language, for a series of tailor-made development workshops culminating in a financing event taking place during the last three days of the Sarajevo Film Festival (from the 11th to the 14th of July, 2012). This event, the CineLink Co-production Market, totals more than 500 participants from all spheres of the film business ready to network, discover talent, co-produce or commission new projects, while creating an annual hub for regional professionals and adding international industry relevance to the Festival.
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CineLink is opened for feature-length fiction film projects with potential for theatrical distribution, created by authors from Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey and UNMI Kosovo.
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CineLink Project Development Workshop will take place in late May 2012, while the CineLink Co-production Market will be held from 11th till 14th July 2012.
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More info at www.sff.ba
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/cinelink_call_for_entries_extended#commentsAlbaniaAustriaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCDATAContact DetailsCroatiaCyprusEarthEntertainmentEntertainmentEuropeGeorgiaGreeceHerzegovinaHungaryInternational co-productionKosovoMacedoniaMaltaMontenegroPolitical geographyRomaniaSarajevoSerbiaSloveniaSoutheast EuropeTechnologyTechnologythe Sarajevo Film FestivalTurkeyUNMIwww.sff.baMon, 27 Feb 2012 10:16:32 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival157236 at https://www.filmfestivals.comKornél Mundruczó President of the Jury for Competition Programme – Feature Film https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/kornel_mundruczo_president_of_the_jury_for_competition_programme_feature_film
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Sarajevo Film Festival has the pleasure of announcing that this year's President of the Jury for Competition Programme – Feature Film will be Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó. Mundruczó was born in 1975. He is one of Hungary's young, progressive directors, described by film critics as initiators of the New Wave in Hungarian, as well as in European film.
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Mundruczó is rightly considered one of the most renowned European film authors, having made four feature-length and five short films, most of which premiered at the most prestigious and most significant film festivals and have won numerous awards.
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His first feature-length film was PLEASANT DAYS, which won a Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival in 2002. Mundruczó's next film was JOHANNA, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, as part of the Un Certain Regard Programme in 2005. DELTA followed in 2008 and was nominated at the official competition selection at the Cannes Film Festival. The film won the FIPRESCI award, as well as the Don Quixote Award at the Cottbus Film Festival (2008), CICAE award at the 14th Sarajevo Film Festival, the Golden Reel for Best Film at the 2008 Hungarian Film Week, the Gene Moskowitz award for best film by the foreign critics.
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Mundruczó's film TENDER SON – THE FRANKENSTEIN PROJECT was also a part of the Cannes Film Festival's Competition Programme in 2010 and it won the Special Jury Award at the 16th Sarajevo Film Festival, as well as the Special Jury Award and the Best Director of Photography Award at the Seville Film Festival. The film was also awarded at the 42nd Hungarian Film Week.
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Kornél Mundruczó's short films are just as successful. Some of them include THE LITTLE APOCRYPHA NO. 2 (AIRED IN Cannes in 2002 - Cinefondation Section), LITTLE APOCRYPHA NO. 1, JOAN OF ARC ON THE NIGHT BUS (Director’s Fortnight – Cannes 2003), AFTA - DAY AFTER DAY, LOST AND FOUND - SHORT LASTING SILENCE.
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He has been a member of the European Film Academy since 2004.
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Kornél Mundruczó is also very successful in theatre, directing on stage since 2003. His plays, some of which include THE ICE, FRANKENSTEIN-PROJECT, HARD TO BE A GOD, JUDASEVANGELIUM, ESZTER SOLYMOSI OF TISZAESZLAR, are played at Hungarian theatres as well as all over the world, and have won many awards at the international theatre festivals.
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/kornel_mundruczo_president_of_the_jury_for_competition_programme_feature_film#comments1CannesCannesCannes Film FestivalCinema of HungaryDirectorEntertainmentEntertainmentFilm festivalHuman InterestHuman InterestJohannaKornél MundruczóKornél MundruczóPerson AttributesPerson CareerpresidentSarajevo Film FestivalTender Son – The Frankenstein Projectthe 14th Sarajevo Film Festivalthe 16th Sarajevo Film Festivalthe 2008 Hungarian Film Weekthe 42nd Hungarian Film Weekthe Best Director of Photography Awardthe Cannes Film Festivalthe Cottbus Film Festivalthe Don Quixote Awardthe FIPRESCI Awardthe Gene Moskowitz awardthe Locarno Film Festivalthe Seville Film Festivalthe Special Jury awardUnited NationsMon, 27 Feb 2012 10:15:24 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival157235 at https://www.filmfestivals.comTribute to Todd Solondzhttps://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/tribute_to_todd_solondz
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The 18th Sarajevo Film Festival (6-14 July 2012) will proudly present the Tribute to Todd Solondz. This exceptional US filmmaker will be joining us in Sarajevo to present to our viewers a selection of his impressive opus that earned him a place among the most renowned directors and writers of today.
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Solondz has been critically acclaimed for his examination of the &quot;dark underbelly of middle class American suburbia&quot;, a reflection of his own background in New Jersey.
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Todd Solondz (October 15, 1959) was born in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in the suburbs. In 1996 WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, a feature he produced, wrote, and directed, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and many other awards. In 1998, HAPPINESS, which he wrote and directed, won the International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay. His next film, STORYTELLING, premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and was named one of the “ten best films of the year” by THE NEW YORK TIMES.
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PALINDROMES premiered in competition at the 2004 Venice Film Festival, as well as at that year’s Telluride, New York, and Toronto film festivals. LIFE DURING WARTIME won the best screenplay award at the Venice Film Festival in 2009 and numerous other awards. His latest film DARK HOUSE premiered in competition at the 2011 Venice Film Festival.
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In the scope of the Tribute to Programme Solondz will meet Sarajevo Film Festival audience during regular Q&amp;A sessions following the screenings.
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In previous years, Sarajevo Film Festival has hosted and presented retrospectives of world’s most prominent authors who attracted great attention of both the audiences and the media.
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Guests of the Sarajevo Film Festival Tribute to Programme in previous years were:
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• Steve Buscemi 2000
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• Mike Leigh 2001
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• Stephen Frears 2002
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• Peter Mullan 2003
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• Dušan Makavejev and Gaspar Noe 2004
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• Alexander Payne 2005
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• Abel Ferrara and Béla Tarr 2006
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• Ulrich Seidl 2007
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• Todd Haynes 2008
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• Jia Zhang-ke 2009
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• Bruno Dumont 2010
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• Lucrecia Martel 2011
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/tribute_to_todd_solondz#comments61st Venice International Film FestivalAbel FerraraAlexander PayneAmerican film directorsBela TarrBruno DumontCinema of the United StatesDusan MakavejevEntertainmentEntertainmentFilmGaspar NoéGolden Globe AwardHappinessIndependent filmsJia Zhang-keLife During WartimeLucrecia MartelMike LeighNew JerseyNew YorkNew YorkNewarkPedophiliaPETER MULLANSARAJEVOSarajevo Film FestivalSocial IssuesSocial IssuesStephen FrearsSteve BuscemiTelluridethe 18th Sarajevo Film Festivalthe 2001 Cannes Film Festivalthe 2004 Venice Film Festivalthe 2011 Venice Film Festivalthe Cannes Film Festivalthe Grand Jury Prizethe International Critics prizethe New York Timesthe New York Timesthe Sarajevo Film Festivalthe SUNDANCE Film Festivalthe Venice Film FestivalTodd HaynesTodd SolondzTodd SolondzTorontoUlrich SeidlUlrich SeidlVenice Film FestivalMon, 27 Feb 2012 10:13:39 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival157234 at https://www.filmfestivals.com Sarajevo City of Film 2012 Projects https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/sarajevo_city_of_film_2012_projects
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Within the framework of this year’s edition of the Sarajevo City of Film Project four short films are going to be filmed, and then premiered at the 18th Sarajevo Film Festival.
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The Call for Entries attracted the total of 16 projects whose teams of authors consisted of young talents, participants of 4th and 5th editions of Sarajevo Talent Campus. The selected projects for the 2012 Sarajevo City of Film are:
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THE PLAYGROUND
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director: Ionut Piturescu (Romania)
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scriptwriter: Zelmira Szabo (Romania)
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actors: Milan Trninić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Dijana Vidušin (Croatia)
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SOMETHING SWEET
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director: Jelena Gavrilović (Serbia)
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scriptwriter: Tanja Šljivar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
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actress: Ana Mandić (Serbia)
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ROUNDABOUT
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director: Orsi Nagypal (Hungary)
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scriptwriter: Elizampetta Ilia (Greece)
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The fourth film that will be realized will be made in the frame of newly launched additional component to this program entitled Sarajevo City of Film Special, in which, next to the projects selected, an established filmmaker is invited to shoot a short film within the same framework and to share his knowledge and experience with young filmmakers.
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The selected projects are going to be filmed in Sarajevo during spring. Taking into consideration the aims of the SCF project, which are to discover new talents and new forms of film expressions, as well as to improve the cooperation between young creative authors whose work represents the future of regional cinematography, the teams of authors of selected projects each year include members coming from at least two different countries. In this way, the Sarajevo Film Festival wishes to encourage creation of the new network of young film talents in the region.
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As in previous years, Sarajevo City of Film Production Workshop will be held in the frame of Sarajevo City of Film Project.
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The participants of Sarajevo City of Film Production Workshop in 2012 will be following young producers: Dragana Jovović (Serbia), Milena Džambasović (Serbia) and Nandor Lovas (Hungary). Sarajevo City of Film Production Workshop is dedicated to young professionals from 13 countries of the region who took part as producers at one of the previous two Sarajevo Talent Campus editions. By participating in this Workshop the participants are given the opportunity of practical work on realization of short films which will be made within the Sarajevo City of Film Project.
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The main partner of the Sarajevo City of Film Project is the ATLANTIC Group, which this year is going to again award the best achievement of the 2012 Sarajevo City of Film Project.
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/sarajevo_city_of_film_2012_projects#commentsactressAna MandićATLANTIC GroupBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnian WarDijana VidušinDirectorDragana JovovićEntertainmentEntertainmentFilm ProductionFilm ProjectFilm SpecialGeography of Bosnia and HerzegovinaGeography of EuropeHrasnoIstočno SarajevoJelena GavrilovićMilan TrninićMilena DžambasovićNandor LovasSarajevoSARAJEVOSarajevo Talent CampusScriptwriterTanja Šljivarthe 18th Sarajevo Film Festivalthe Sarajevo Film FestivalTilavaMon, 27 Feb 2012 10:12:13 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival157233 at https://www.filmfestivals.comOnline Film Submissions https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/online_film_submissions
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Online film submissions for the programmes of the 18th Sarajevo Film Festival, which will be held from 6th to 14th July 2012 is open.
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Film authors and producers can submit their films for the following programmes: Competition Programme - Feature Film, Competition Programme - Short Film, Competition Programme- Documentary Film, as well as for the New Currents - Shorts, Children's Programme and TeenArena.
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The application deadline is 30th April 2012.
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Please find rules and regulations and online entry form at <a href="http://www.sff.ba" title="www.sff.ba">www.sff.ba</a>.
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/online_film_submissions#commentsCDATAContact DetailsEntertainmentEntertainmentthe 18th Sarajevo Film Festivalwww.sff.baXMLMon, 27 Feb 2012 10:09:08 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival157232 at https://www.filmfestivals.comKINOSCOPE - New Section in Sarajevo Film Festival Programminghttps://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/kinoscope_new_section_in_sarajevo_film_festival_programming
<p><span>The Sarajevo Film Festival has created a new section in its programming called KINOSCOPE and drafted in three new programmers onto its international team: Mike Goodridge from the UK, Alessandro Raja from Italy and Mathilde Henrot from France.</span></p>
<p><span>The programme will comprise films from around the world, both narrative and documentary, choosing 18 films from around the globe excluding the southeastern European territories which compose the festival’s competition strand. The focus will be on distinctive titles marked out for their mise-en-scene and will take in great auteurs as well as first and second film-makers.</span></p>
<p><span>“It's great to welcome back Mike, Alessandro and Mathilde to Sarajevo,this time as programers of the Sarajevo Film Festival,” said Sarajevo Film Festival director Mirsad Purivatra. “Their competence and experience will bring new creative energy to our prolific team of programmers, who are all very excited to have them on board. We are very much looking forward to introducing KINOSCOPE to our audience at the 18th Sarajevo Film Festival .” </span></p>
<p><span>Mike Goodridge is editor of Screen International. Based in London, he oversees all the brand’s output including </span><a href="http://www.screendaily.com/" target="_blank"><span>Screendaily.com</span></a><span>, the Screen International print products every month and daily at festivals and markets and the production database Screenbase. He has been at Screen since 1995 both in London and, for 12 years, in Los Angeles and is also a prolific critic for the brand. He is a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the London Film Critics Circle and FIPRESCI as well as BAFTA and the European Film Academy.</span></p>
<p><span>Alessandro Raja and Mathilde Henrot, founded and run </span><span><a href="http://www.festivalscope.com/" target="_blank">Festival Scope</a> </span><span>the industry website showing online films from its selected &amp; prestigious network of 70+ partner festivals including the festivals of Sundance, Rotterdam, Berlinale, Hong Kong, Directors' Fortnight and Critics' Week in Cannes, Locarno, Sarajevo, Venice, Toronto, San Sebastian and Busan. Both were previously in sales &amp; acquisitions respectively at Celluloid Dreams and MK2 up until the development of Festival Scope.</span></p>
<p><span>“I am excited to be joining Alessandro and Mathilde in this new programming adventure at the distinguished Sarajevo Film Festival,” said Goodridge. “I can’t wait to start putting the first KINOSCOPE programme together and bringing exciting cinema to the film-loving audiences of Sarajevo.”</span></p>
<p><span>&quot;We are thrilled by this new challenge that will be another opportunity to highlight the creative talent we discover all year round. We've been collaborating with the Sarajevo Film Festival for a while now as it was one of the first festivals to jump in the Festival Scope adventure,&quot; said Raja and Henrot.</span></p>
https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/kinoscope_new_section_in_sarajevo_film_festival_programming#commentsAlessandro RajaBAFTABerlinaleBusanCannesCannescritic for the brandDirectors' FortnighteditorenergyEntertainmentEntertainmentFilm festivalFIPRESCIforwardFranceGeography of EuropeItalyLocarnoLondonMathilde HenrotMerkava mark 2Mike GoodridgeMirsad PurivatraPerson CareerPerson LocationQuotationRotterdamSan SebastianSarajevoSARAJEVOSarajevo Film FestivalScreen InternationalScreen InternationalSundanceTechnologyTechnologythe 18th Sarajevo Film Festivalthe Sarajevo Film Festivalthe Screen InternationalTorontoVeniceNewsFri, 20 Jan 2012 11:23:41 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival153853 at https://www.filmfestivals.com18th SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL - SAVE THE DATE: 6-14 July 2012https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/18th_sarajevo_film_festival_save_the_date_6_14_july_2012
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18th SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL
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Mark your calendars so you don't miss the 18th Sarajevo Film Festival - 6-14 July 2012.
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To keep track of all Sarajevo Film Festival announcements follow our website <a href="http://www.sff.ba/">www.sff.ba</a> and become a fan on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sarajevofilmfestival">Facebook</a>.
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Remember to relive the best moments of the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/sarajevofilmfestival">videos</a>, <a href="http://www.sff.ba/content.php/en/daily?set_culture=en">Festival Dailies</a> or <a href="http://www.sff.ba/image_gallery/list?sf_culture=en">Photo Gallery</a>.
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See you in Sarajevo next year!
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/18th_sarajevo_film_festival_save_the_date_6_14_july_2012#comments18th SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVALCDATAContact DetailsPhoto GallerySarajevoSARAJEVOSarajevo Film FestivalTechnologyTechnologythe 17th Sarajevo Film Festivalthe 18th Sarajevo Film Festivalwww.sff.baFESTIVALSMon, 26 Sep 2011 09:26:59 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival141079 at https://www.filmfestivals.comMilcho Manchevski Interview at 17th SFFhttps://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/milcho_manchevski_interview_at_17th_sff
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<p>To commemorate one of the world's oldest and most respected festivals during this 68th Venice International Film Festival, I present you with an in-depth interview with one of the prestigious Golden Lion winners for Best Director, Milcho Manchevski, who won the award in 1994 for his epic masterpiece BEFORE THE RAIN (1994). </p>
<p>This interview has a story. We began it in the gardens of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Aruba during the 2nd annual AIFF in June, continued in Sarajevo during the 17th annual SFF in July, and have finished now just in time for La Biennale, 68. I interviewed Milcho about his latest film MOTHERS (2010) and his first feature BEFORE THE RAIN (1994) and we discussed film in general- the art and the industry. </p>
<p>MY INTERVIEW WITH MILCHO MANCHEVSKI... </p>
<p>Anyone familiar with Milcho Manchevski’s films knows these are not your popcorn hotdog candy Friday night at the movies. Philosophical and poetic, suggestive and visionary, Milcho’s films- MOTHERS (2010), SHADOWS (2007), DUST (2001) and BEFORE THE RAIN (1994)- are avant-garde experimental experiences, forcing us to not only be entertained while watching but to also really look at life- to face its realities and fictions, its traditions and nuances, its beauties and horrors. There are movies and then there is cinema and Milcho devotes his life to the latter, designing delicacy (but certainly not delicate), polished, precise, perfection- ART. You are what you eat, so they say, so unless your thing is the hot body with ‘the mind’ or unless you consume and shop ‘organic’, this is the wrong medium for you; but, if you seek soul-nourishing, thought-provoking, mind-enriching, unforgettably disturbing and pleasing (even life-changing) film, you’ve walked into the right theater. </p>
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<p>ME: So, let’s start talking about MOTHERS. In MOTHERS, like BEFORE THE RAIN, its told in a triptych type of style. Can you tell us about this kind style or structure of storytelling and why you like it? Is there any kind of symbolism? </p>
<p>MILCHO: It just feels right. It’s not something rational, nor a premeditated thing where I say, ‘Eureka! Three-part structure!’; not like three is a magic number or anything. It provides balance and stability. Also, it provides variety that you often don’t have in a singular narrative. The stability we find in a good three-part story that you wouldn’t have in, for example, a two-part structure is due to the fact that three stories can play off of each other in a variety of ways......MOTHERS is an asymmetrical triptych because one story is very short, the middle one is pretty long and the third one is the longest, and what makes them more unusual for some people is the fact that one of the three stories is a documentary and the other two are fiction. To me, that was really intriguing. Why do we have to stick to conventions, which are suffocating us both as artists and as humans? Why not play with it as long as we can produce something beautiful, something that helps the communication between the artist and the viewer, and touches one’s heart? I decided to play with this convention and to challenge it. Of course, it has been done before: filmmakers have put documentary and fiction in the same piece, but this one is done slightly differently...Another thing that sets MOTHERS apart in a small way is that the three stories never come together in a conventional narrative way. There were requests that I write a merging ending, or a place where they would merge in an old-fashioned conventional way, but I felt that was a copout really. It was more difficult - but hopefully also more satisfying - if the piece remains austere, stark, ascetic, where the three parts are completely separate, and as a viewer you yourself try to make the narrative connections if you really need them. Or, if you’re more relaxed about it, you could enjoy the tonal and the thematic connections without trying to put the three stories into one big unified story as we have been taught all our lives. Treat it like art which relies less on a rigid narrative pattern, and you might be up for a great emotional journey. </p>
<p>ME: It’s interesting because last year I interviewed Guillermo Arriaga, writer of the film BABEL (2004) and there are very few directors who have experimented with this really different nonlinear narrative. I mean, Arriaga, Tarantino, Manchevski...is just so pushing the envelope. Why do you think? </p>
<p>MILCHO: It touches upon the way we experience things. We don’t experience things in a linear way, but we have been taught that things are linear. We are told history and mankind is moving forward- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…. - but I’m not sure that’s entirely true. There are all kinds of swerving and zigzagging roads in our mind, and possibly in the nature as well. Narrative film is building on that old-fashioned approach in that it insists on linearity. Sometimes the narrative film toys with little things like flashbacks or framing devices while really insisting on a beginning, middle and end, and usually in that order... So, when you successfully undermine that, it reminds us of all the possibilities opening in front of us, the possibilities to be freer and hopefully more inventive in telling a story and putting together a narrative work of art – film in this case. Secondly, it reminds us of the way that we really experience the world. I don’t think that we experience it in a linear way. We are suffering from the dictatorship of the cowards and the corporations. Film could be much more fun. And, I’d argue that it would also be more commercial if that pressure was less. </p>
<p>ME: Well, there’s a long way that it can go. I mean cinema is still young. Literature went through similar movements from linear to stream-of-consciousness writing, etc. So, there’s still a long way to go in film. </p>
<p>MILCHO: Pretty much. It seems the other arts have moved on into modernity, but film is still stuck in the 19th century where the novel was before James Joyce and painting before Picasso and Dada. </p>
<p>ME: Yeah, exactly. It’s funny how art has to go through this long process of evolution. </p>
<p>MILCHO: Unfortunately, narrative film is squeezed in a shoebox, or rather in shoes three sizes too small; the framework of two hours- beginning, middle and end- main character, supporting characters, one unifying feeling... I think that the corporate dictatorship expresses itself more in the dictatorship of what kind of a feeling your audience is going to walk out of the theater with than the type of plot your film will have. </p>
<p>ME: And the point is to make people think right? I mean, of course there is ‘art’ for entertainment and then there is art for true art, right? </p>
<p>MILCHO: If its sole purpose is to make money then it’s not art by definition. Not because it is not good, but by definition. I’m not saying it’s better or worse, but it’s not art.... Here’s why: the purpose of making art is to make art, to create a piece (of matter in space or in time), which has no other purpose but to be beautiful. Not beautiful like a sunset, but beautiful like seeing the results of a beautiful human mind and heart and hand at work. At work, creating a piece whose sole purpose is beauty – and which achieves this because it contains a little capsule of the artist’s essence – a powerful feeling or a concept that want to be communicated to another human being. You know, some things are not for sale. That’s the bottom line. </p>
<p>ME: So, what would you say to the people who make an industry out of film? The cycle has to go right? Many people also just want to watch things to escape. There’s that too. </p>
<p>MILCHO: They’ll go on making replica films for the sole purpose of making money and satisfying their hunger for profit or fame. They don’t need my approval. And I’m not saying that only Bergman is good. But – don’t go around insulting my intelligence by calling every doodle a drawing and every drawing art. Not every piece of celluloid with end credits deserves to be called a film... We could have more daring, more innovative, more entertaining films – and they would even make more money. I think films would be more entertaining if they’re freer to play with things. We go to the movies to see something new (people seldom go to the same film twice), but the mainstream films we see are mainly replicas; we are primed to think that only slight variations on existing themes are acceptable… You mentioned Tarantino. Tarantino is a perfect example. What he does is often innovative and yet it is commercial. You don’t have to knock off replicas in order to be commercially viable. Unfortunately, what the Hollywood industry and the festival industry and the European films funds do is encourage repetition and derivative work. They sing praises to the recycling of the familiar. By doing this they try to do what corporations always want to do – control the flow. But they also strangle it. </p>
<p>ME: Yeah, when you can get to that point, when you can have a success off of your innovation then you can be freer. I mean, no one criticizes Tarantino because they know whatever he makes will be a success, etc. </p>
<p>MILCHO: It’s good to have a climate where people can do something that’s innovative. Again, it doesn’t have to be radical, but the author needs to feel free to digress from just repeating the same formula (and it does not matter whether the formula is a car chase, a Sundance 20-something’s bitter-sweet angst, or a Miramax chocolat-art). There’s no progress without this freedom. Yet, there’s so much fear and so much desperate ambition. The film business, and especially Hollywood, run on fear. They even strangle what could work commercially out of fear. </p>
<p>ME: Well, and since film is a collective art you have so many cooks in the kitchen on what was originally an authentic original dish. </p>
<p>MILCHO: There are two different things here. One is a collective art where creative people work on the piece itself with an understanding of what that piece is meant to be. And then there are the cases of people without creative credentials dictating how a film is to be made. Ultimately, it boils down to a simple question: Who are the cooks in the collective work? Is it the writer, the director, the composer, the costume designer, the editor, the actor, or is it the various sorts of commissioning editors, creative executives and co- executive associate producers who earn their right to play in the sandbox not on the basis of their creative input, but solely on the basis of the fact that they have positioned themselves close to the checkbook (which is not even their own). </p>
<p>ME: So, let’s talk about MOTHERS. Some people love it and get it. And then others love it until the end of the second part and hate it when it gets to the third. What do you have to say about the final part of MOTHERS and what your purpose is for that? </p>
<p>MILCHO: MOTHERS is all about the whole. Not about its parts alone. It’s about the contrast created by the three parts, the inner tension of the three parts, not the outward-looking narrative. It’s about how a dark and stark documentary reflecting on ugly reality works off of beautiful images (or “beautiful images“) and beautiful landscapes and a warm heart of the film, which is the fiction portion. So to talk only about the fiction is to do MOTHERS injustice; it’s also to misunderstand its purpose and its intention. It’s not meant to be sweet. I don’t make sweet films. I feel that when people like only the first half of MOTHERS they like a different kind of film, not the kind of film I’m interested in making. I’m not interested in making something that’s going to comfort in a simplistic way. </p>
<p>ME: Which became pretty obvious in the second part because we see that you are saying, ‘look, here’s a beautiful movie’ and then BOOM, we get something totally different and even scary in the third part. </p>
<p>MILCHO: I can make a sweet movie with my hands tied behind my back, but I am not interested in that. I like art that stirs me up and even disturbs me. Disturbing in art is good. Sometimes it is good in life, too. Look, some people like TITANIC and some people like Godard. As long as it’s genuine liking and not groupthink (or conforming to publicity), it’s fine with me. I know that the audience with this kind of a film is fairly limited and that’s perfectly fine. Making the creative compromises to get bigger audience feels like selling my soul to the devil or selling a pound of flesh for something that is not very important to me. If people like something that you’ve made but you don’t really like it yourself what good is it – except that it buys you a pool or a bigger house? </p>
<p>ME: Well, MOTHERS is definitely reflexive cinema because while you’re watching, you find yourself looking around to see if others are also confused or shocked and if maybe suddenly the projectionist is screwing around and has put on another film. </p>
<p>MILCHO: It was that particular shock that I was after. As a viewer, I like that kind of a jolt in art that I myself watch or listen to – whether it’s film or a piece of music or a painting or performance art. I’m interested in that jolt as an artist as well. Of course, as long as it makes sense in the piece as a whole. I know that this kind of an emotional jolt and mood shift is the most difficult thing to sell in any film because we have been primed to stick with the same mood and tone through a two-hour film; even if you fracture the story, even if the plot jumps around, you’re expected to make a film that in its tone is consistent. Either the whole thing is scary, or sweet, or serious, or it’s a romantic comedy, a silly comedy… but you’re not supposed to start with DUMB AND DUMBER and then shift into a John Sayles movie. Making that kind of a surprising film or watching that kind of a film could be more satisfying if we let go and allow ourselves to take it in with lungs wide open. </p>
<p>ME: It reminds me a bit of TREE OF LIFE (2011) which won the Palme d’Or this year, something very similar to MOTHERS occurs where ten minutes into a narrative film, and then out of nowhere we are forced to watch what seems like 45 minutes of a BBC creation of life documentary series. It’s completely new and innovative and yet the masses seem to be responding to it, possibly because Brad Pitt and Sean Penn are in it. LOL </p>
<p>MILCHO: It’s good to let go of the tyranny of the linear storytelling and tonal uniformity, and to enjoy something different. I’m not saying that this type of filmmaking is good by default. It could be bad, silly, pretentious or not your cup of tea, but to dismiss it only because it deviates from the dogma, from what is supposed to be the way in which stories are told is narrow-minded and it deprives you of the opportunity to experience something that might expand your horizons and enrich your experience. </p>
<p>ME: Which changes art. I mean, it takes one person to start doing something new for others to follow and then changing the world… </p>
<p>MILCHO: It’s so simple to tell a gripping single-tone linear story, it’s almost boring. </p>
<p>ME: Okay, now that we’ve discussed MOTHERS, which I loved by the way. I would now like to go to one of my favorite films ever made, BEFORE THE RAIN. What was it like to have such a success (the Golden Lion, the Oscar nomination, one NY Times’ ‘1000 Best Films Ever Made’), I mean did you feel after that, ‘well I can’t get much higher that this so now I’m going to relax’ or, I mean how did you feel after that? </p>
<p>MILCHO: Obviously this sudden and enormous success created expectations, whether you’re aware of them it or not. And since I was always a straight-A student I felt like I had to fulfill those expectations. It was like a train had hit me, and said: “Now run with me!” On the other hand, it was everything I was trying to do worked, and it worked pretty much everywhere: from art-houses in Asia to Hollywood studio bosses. I had people coming to me who have related to the smallest detail in ‘Before the Rain’; I saw people walking out of the theater in tears; I was approached by people who’ve seen it 20 times, I found myself at an academic conference about BEFORE THE RAIN; I listened to Mick Jagger describe the plotline of BEFORE THE RAIN to Don Was…. I don’t know what it is in that film, but it elicits incredible reactions... ...What I tried to do after BEFORE THE RAIN was to keep on making the kind of films I wanted to make, rather than repeating the same thing. Yet, I still expected the same kind of mass acceptance – and that is something that an artist should not burden himself or herself with. Your dialogue must be with the work itself, not with the audience or with the critics. </p>
<p>ME: Do you think that part of the major success of BEFORE THE RAIN was also timing as it came out right in the midst of Yugoslav Wars and was one of the first films really touching on that subject? Sometimes success can be all timing? </p>
<p>MILCHO: The basic emotion and the cinematic execution in BEFORE THE RAIN are like firestorms. They are simple and complex at the same time. There is both sincere naïveté and sharp calibration in that film. Whatever it is, people really, really connect to something in that film on an extremely powerful way. </p>
<p>ME: You also love photography. You have published a photography book called FIVE DROPS OF DREAM. Can you tell us a bit about that? </p>
<p>MILCHO: FIVE DROPS OF DREAM is a great experience for me. It is making real art with a smile, something fun, like a child playing in the street. There was no need to explain it beforehand, and I followed the images and my instinct. The exhibition and book consist of 49 photographic series (or compositions), each consisting of five photographs in a horizontal string. They are grouped together based on a visual or an emotional code, seldom based on a funny narrative blip. The book and exhibition is funny and light without being shallow, and it takes joy and pride in being actively alive. I am almost prepared to say that both the process of taking these pictures and assembling them into compositions (series), and the result are more satisfying than any of the films I made. </p>
<p>ME: Also, you tend to love using no name actors and fresh new talent. Why is that? And how do you find this incredible talent? </p>
<p>MILCHO: I really don’t care if an actor is a name or not. I like working with good actors, regardless of whether they are “names” who can open a movie or unknowns. Working with actors, along with writing, is probably my favorite part of directing. The characters and the story come alive when you start rehearsing with actors. I appreciate actors who have certain energy, but almost more importantly, I am interested in their craft. So, we’d sit down and look at many, many potential actors, and see who’s right for the part. I listen carefully, and I think I can hear the truth in their performance, and that is all that matters. I do something similar on the set – I avoid looking at the monitor and try to stand next to the camera in order to observe the actor from as close as possible, and trying to see if I believe what s/he is telling me. In MOTHERS, as always, we went through a rigorous and long casting process, saw hundreds of actors, and in the case of the two nine-year-old girls, we saw more than a thousand candidates. In the end, we picked the best actors for the parts… I also subscribe to what Bergman said about rehearsal – it is where the performance is created. The filming itself is only re-creating. If during rehearsal we manage to get to 80% of where we want to go with the scene, then I hope the actors can put that in a jar and save it for the shoot, where we will ramp it up to 100%. </p>
<p>ME: Is there another film on the horizon? What can you tell us about your next plans? </p>
<p>MILCHO: Not sure. I am writing a documentary that is not a documentary called SUNSHINE, but I am beginning to think that instead I need to take a long trip and take more pictures, spend several years just photographing things and people. </p>
<p>ME: Your cinema has made history! Thank you Milcho! ;-) </p>
<p>Interview conducted by Vanessa McMahon</p>
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<p><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski_in_aruba_2"></a></p>
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<p>Director Milcho Manchevski accepting the Golden Lion Award at Venice Film Festival 1994. </p>
<p><span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski_at_venice_film_festival_1994"></a></span></p>
https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/milcho_manchevski_interview_at_17th_sff#commentsactorArtistArubaAsiaAuthorBBCBefore the RainBrad Pittco- executiveCulturedesigner , the editorDirectordirector , the composerDon waseditor , the actorenergyEntertainmentEntertainmentFilmGolden LionGuillermo ArriagaHollywood studioHyatt Regency HotelJames JoyceLa BiennaleMajorMass mediaMick JaggerMilcho ManchevskiMilcho Manchevski Interview at 17th SFFMilčo MančevskiNext MagazinePerson AttributesPerson CareerPoliticsPoliticsprojectionistSARAJEVOSean PennSundancethe Golden Lionthe Golden Lion Awardthe OscarTree of LifeVanessa McMahonVenice Film Festivalwriterwriter , the directorYour cinemaInterviewsFri, 16 Sep 2011 06:27:10 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival139805 at https://www.filmfestivals.comLOVERBOY, an interview with Daniel Mitulescuhttps://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/loverboy_an_interview_with_daniel_mitulescu
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LOVERBOY (2011) is the newest film by the Mitulescu brothers, Catalin and Daniel. LOVERBOY opened at Cannes 2011 in ‘Un Certain Regard’ and screened in competition in Sarajevo at the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival where the stunning lead actress, Ada Condeescu, won a merited Best Actress award for her magnetic and arresting performance in the film as a her loverboy’s greatest conquest.
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LOVERBOY examines the nature of love and questions the psyche of a lover in not only modern day Romania but in the world at large. When asked ‘what is the meaning of love?’ to the lead actor George Pistereanu, he replied, “life without love is like being in a desert without water”. Of course not everyone has such romantic ideas about love. What are your views of love? Is it strong enough to conquer all? Well, whatever your opinions on love and the nature of love are, they will certainly be challenged after seeing LOVERBOY.
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I interviewed the film’s producer Daniel Mitulescu in Sarajevo at the Hotel Europe. We spoke about his career as producer, life, love, and of course, LOVERBOY.
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ME: So, this is your second film with your brother, correct?
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DANIEL: Yes, this is his second feature film.
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ME: And you produced both his films?
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DANIEL: Yes, but this is my third film to produce. My first film was THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD (2006), which was in Cannes in 2006. It was in ‘Un Certain Regard’ category. And the second film I produced was IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE (2010), which was in Berlin competition and the third one is LOVERBOY (2011).
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ME: And with your previous film IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, it opened in Berlin and then went to many festivals this past year.
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DANIEL: Yes. In Berlin it was in competition and won two jury awards including the Silver Bear and the Alfred Bauer Award.
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ME: So, what made you want to become a producer? Did you always want to do it or did you fall into it?
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DANIEL: Initially, I started sociology. I studied two years in Bucharest and then two years in Paris in Sorbonne Social Anthropology. Then I moved to Spain in Madrid and I did an MBA in Audio Visual. I worked 3-4 months in TV in the Spanish film department so I began to reading scripts, projects, evaluating. Then it was very useful and then I came back to Romania and I worked on TRAFFIC (2004), the short film of my brother as a production assistant and then a feature film that premiered here in Sarajevo in fact. Then I produced THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD.
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ME: So, when your brother got into production you joined him?
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DANIEL: Yeah, we discussed. He started first while I was in Paris we have discussed about films and about producing. And then I decided to do the school in Spain, the MBA. And since I was little I liked to see films so when I went in Paris doing anthropology what I liked the best in life, what makes me happy and I thought, ‘yeah, I want to do something related to film’. And see a lot of films.
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ME: So, how did you begin to produce your first film? How did you get started?
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DANIEL: That was a huge production. I was the producer together with my brother and it was a very difficult production. It was 1.5m euros budget with French co-producer.
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ME: That was a big film for Romania right?
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DANIEL: Yeah. And big for a first feature film, first time director.
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ME: That was your brother Catalin’s first film. You guys are really a team!
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DANIEL: Yeah, and it was with a French co-production with Eurimage and we had two executive producers including Wim Wenders on that film. So, it was fifty percent Romanian production.
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ME: So, there’s a good film fund in Romania?
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DANIEL: Yeah, but now I heard some news that they are cutting the money so we are like worried a little bit.
</p>
<p>
ME: Big surprise eh? That’s the problem everywhere right now. So, what are the latest productions after your first film? Are they bigger or smaller?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: The latest films are smaller. IF I WANT TO WHISTLE was 900,000euro and LOVERBOY was 1.2million euro. And I have two other feature film projects that I am working on.
</p>
<p>
ME: And will you work on projects outside of Romania or will you mainly continue to work with your brother?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: Well, IF I WANT TO WHISTLE was directed by Florin Serban and also now I am working on a movie with a Spanish director so I don’t only work with my brother because my brother cannot do films every year. So I have to have my own system. It’s normal when I produce I don’t only work with my brother because the idea is to find other directors to produce as well but of course following my brother too because I like his cinema. [then it was pouring rain outside]It’s a disaster outside!
</p>
<p>
ME: Crazy summer weather! So, in LOVERBOY it’s the same actors who are in IF I WANT TO WHISTLE. How hard was it to find them?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: Well, it was very hard to find George. He was the leading role and we spent like seven months in casting, hundreds and hundreds of teenagers that we saw. But George was very good from the beginning but he was still in testing for two months after that we said, ‘okay, you are the leading role’. Without George I don’t know if we would have done the film because it’s a very important role and very difficult and for LOVERBOY, for Ada, it was a little bit easier. She was studying in university and we have chosen her. But about Catalin he was writing the script and we thought about George. And afterwards, he had also decided for Ada.
</p>
<p>
ME: So, can you tell us a bit about the latest film LOVERBOY? What does it mean? Is he like a contemporary Casanova?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: LOVERBOY is about a 20 year-old boy living in a town near the Danube that makes the girls fall in love with him. In fact, ‘Loverboy’ is a word used by the police that investigate trafficking and they call this kind of trafficking using the method of making women fall in love with him.
</p>
<p>
ME: I’ve never heard of this kind of trafficking. What does being a ‘loveboy’ have to do with trafficking?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: It has to do because the method of forcing girls into prostitution is less and less because you know with police investigating the law. You know? So, let’s say it’s complicated and hard to catch these guys because if the girl is not innocent then the police cannot do anything.
</p>
<p>
ME: So, the traffickers don’t threaten the girls?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: They don’t threaten them. The girls get stuck because they fall in love with the boy so they don’t go to the police to tell them, ‘my lover is…’ you know. That’s the idea. So, you are in love with a guy and you will make everything for that guy because you are in love with him, you know. And the guys is saying, ‘okay, we need some money to build our future’ you know. ‘So, you prostitute yourself and you sleep with these guys and make money and make money for us’ you know? And the Loverboy can have one girl, two girls, three girls, so that’s the idea. And Loverboys are not only in Romania they are everywhere.
</p>
<p>
ME: Wow! The trafficking that most people are familiar with is the one where the girl and her family are threatened and forced into prostitution by force.
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: Of course. But this is the new method. But this is the most perverse way of prostituting girls and the film LOVERBOY shows it, how you can make a girl fall in love with you. And it’s very interesting.
</p>
<p>
ME: This is a new method, I suppose, for an age-old form of domination over women. So, it’s new and yet enduring. I mean even Casanova (and all ‘Loverboys’ old and new) seduced his many lovers into a form of prostitution as well.
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: Of course. In fact, you can say that behind every woman on the street in Italy and Spain is a love affair in a way, a first love. And the problem is that most of them, the victim of Loverboys are underage and that’s a problem because psychologically after six months doing prostitution they cannot recover psychologically. And in a way I don’t think LOVERBOY is a social film because it’s about investigating love and what’s important in a relationship. Is love enough to have a relationship? So, I would say there are different levels in the film and that makes the film in good opinion with the audience. And it’s also about modern guys in Romania and how they have fun and parties with the girls on the seaside and it’s sexual.
</p>
<p>
ME: So, being that’s it’s primarily about the psychology of love it’s a universal story but a little social just because it captures modern day Romania.
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: Exactly.
</p>
<p>
ME: So, can you tell us a bit about the Ada’s role? Having seen her in IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, she seems like a strong female character. So, how does such a strong girl find herself in such a situation?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: There are different girls in the film. You have to see the film to know how it develops.
</p>
<p>
ME: And the film had its debut in Cannes?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: Yes, it opened in Cannes in ‘Un Certain Regard’.
</p>
<p>
ME: Can you just give readers a word on what to expect?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: They can expect a film that touches the relation between a 20 year-old boy and a 16 year-old girl. It’s a love affair, in a way, it’s a strange love affair.
</p>
<p>
ME: During the press conference here in Sarajevo for the film, the interviewer on panel had asked each of the cast about their opinion about love and the meaning of it. Do you care to give your opinion about love in general and love in the world today?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: I think that the family has a strong role in society and now there are more and more questions. Even the idea of marriage, there are a lot of people who don’t marry and have a common relation. I think it’s also about men and I think the role of men has diminished. Because it’s less and less a commitment on their side, decisions, regarding women. And I think it’s very important for a man to take decisions in life, not only that it’s necessary to decide to marry a woman but has to make a decision. And more and more I see that women take decisions for men because men are not the same role as before. There are two things…One is that women put more accent on career. That is very important. And the second is that women also have to take decisions for men. I wont say that it’s a problem, I say it’s a reality. And this makes society turn a different way. I don’t know why this is happening but I observe this. If you see a couple, the woman makes more every day decisions. Women know more how to deal with a lot of things at the same time where men are more focused. But more than that, maybe there are fewer and fewer men that have passed through steps in life to become mature and they tend to be kids for always. Not like in other societies in the past there were steps, wars, pastimes where men were forced to overcome situations. But the comfort of the new society don’t determine men to take decisions and this is connected also to the fact that the family tend to keep the kids as long as possible.
</p>
<p>
ME: Yes, of course. There used to be culture, traditions, and rites of passage. There were certain psychological events that would sort of mark in the psyche for the next stage in life. And those are disappearing everywhere. So, people are staying underdeveloped in many ways, like adolescents their whole life.
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: Yeah. And even in the army service. The army in Romania had the role of bringing young boys from remote villages in Romania and also from Bucharest together and being in difficult situations. So this is socialization because the boys know each other and they open themselves and they also overcome some fears. Like in the tribes when you send a 17 year-old boy into the forest for two weeks and he needs to control himself to become a man.
</p>
<p>
ME: Or the circumcision, something that marks the psyche for the stages of growth into the next stage of responsibility and transformation. But today there is less and less rites performed and almost no collective myths apply anymore.
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: Exactly. No values in a way. There are different values today, not the same values. The values have changed.
</p>
<p>
ME: With all of these changes of values and ideas, do you think there will be more of a need to go back to the simple human needs, going back to the family, going back to collective local myths, etc.? And thereafter, new ideas of love and family and social roles?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: I think there is a connection where a person is born and it’s important to understand the place where you are living. I was talking today to a director friend of mine about how Romanians are always complaining and they are not satisfied with the place they are living in. And I think that is reflected in other things, in the economy and politics and everything. I think that’s very important not only to accept the place you are in but if you don’t like it, change it. Moving to another country or another place is not the solution. You are escaping of what? Finally you have to understand.
</p>
<p>
ME: And the problem with that is that for people to make a change they have to look at themselves. And that’s the hardest problem, to stop looking outwards and to look inwards. That’s the hardest thing to do.
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: But it’s what we should do. And if we know at least that, that’s good.
</p>
<p>
ME: Great final words, Daniel. I think you can say that LOVERBOY indeed confronts these problems.
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: What I like in the film is this need to overcome your condition, or at least to try it. This is very important not to be fatalistic.
</p>
<p>
ME: And do the characters in LOVERBOY take that journey?
</p>
<p>
DANIEL: They try. They try.
</p>
<p>
ME: Awesome, Daniel. Thank you! Everyone, go see LOVERBOY. It’s raw and visceral, honest and haunting; an unforgettable mirror to the human psyche and the nature of love.
</p>
<p>
Interview by Vanessa McMahon, transcribed on August 07, 2011.
</p>
<p>
photos by Vanessa McMahon from SFF 2011
</p>
<p>
<a href="/en/image/loverboy_at_siff_2011_4"></a>
</p>
<p>
<a href="/en/image/loverboy_at_siff_2011_4"></a><span class="caption"><b>Daniel Mitulescu, Ada Condeescu, George Pistereanu, Catalin Mitulescu</b></span>
</p>
<p>
<a href="/en/image/loverboy_at_siff_2011"></a><a href="/en/image/loverboy_at_siff_2011_0"></a><a href="/en/image/loverboy_at_siff_2011_1"></a><a href="/en/image/loverboy_at_siff_2011_2"></a><a href="/en/image/loverboy_at_siff_2011_3"></a><a href="/en/image/sff_awards_2"></a> Ada Condeescu winning Best Actress on closing night.
</p>
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/loverboy_an_interview_with_daniel_mitulescu#commentsactoractressAda Condeescuan interview with Daniel Mitulescuarmyarmy in RomaniaBerlinBucharestCannesCannesCatalinCatalin Mitulescuco-producerDaniel MitulescuDirectorEntertainmentEntertainmentEuropeexecutiveFlorin SerbanGeorge PistereanuHotel EuropeItalyLOVERBOYLoverboyMadridNext MagazineParisPerson CareerPerson LocationProducerProduction AssistantQuotationRomaniaSARAJEVOSay ItSinners Never SleepSpainthe 17th Sarajevo Film FestivalVanessa McMahonFILMWed, 10 Aug 2011 11:04:24 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival136457 at https://www.filmfestivals.comMELANCHOLIA... https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/melancholia
<p>‘Melancholia’, dictionary description… “a mental condition and especially a manic-depressive condition characterized by extreme depression, bodily complaints, and often hallucinations and delusions”.</p>
<p>Smash ceremony to pieces. Hype, ego, pomp, sensationalism, formality, persona, ceremony… Blow it to smithereens and what is left? A whole new way of looking at the world around us, whether real or imaginary, an altered perspective. Well, we’ve all seen that Lars von Trier is a fan of smashing ceremonies. He does it in public frequently and it is often the main action that takes place in his films. In his latest work, MELANCHOLIA (2011), the character Justine (played by Kirsten Dunst) does just that. Due to a bout of inevitable all-consuming melancholia, she ruins her own wedding and turns what should have been a clean beautiful once-in-a-lifetime event into a chaotic night of living hell. But despite the blitzed wedding and the crashing of her world, the high concept here is not the ruined ceremony nor the many disappointed family and guests. </p>
<p>What matters here most is the mood of Justine, the piercing heavy gloppy and chthonic goop that drags our poor heroine to the ground, that inexplicable, impossible to avoid bilious black dark cloud that takes down whomever it possess with great invincible force. I am talking of course of ‘Melancholia’. Many just understand this word as a mood, as a passing fleeting moment of discontent. But others experience it differently. Others live with melancholia as an affliction, a hereditary disease that makes them chronically depressed, bipolar or even as a type of schizophrenia. Without a doubt, it is a serious psychological condition and only those who have it can truly understand. </p>
<p>I recently saw the film for the first time in Sarajevo at the SFF after an introduction to the film by actress Charlotte Rampling who praised the film as ‘Trier’s greatest work yet’. I had anticipated this film for a long time but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. When I walked out of this film all I could do was find a quiet place as quickly as possible so I could contemplate what had hit me. My head was throbbing and I was struck by one of the most intense works of art I have seen. My friends and I looked for a calm lounge/bar and immediately I ordered a glass of Primitivo and pondered. </p>
<p>In the film, two sisters - Justine and Claire (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg) - experience a stifling severe melancholia. Their negative melancholic mother (played by Charlotte Rampling) passed it onto them and Claire will undoubtedly pass it onto her son, Leo. The sisters both live as victims of this mental disease, each experiencing it in completely different ways. Justine experiences it more on a muddy earthly level while Claire on a more saturnine planetary one, but each suffers greatly from this devastating disorder.</p>
<p>One of my friends kept repeating to me that the first story 'Justine' he liked while the second, 'Claire', he didn't like because he didn’t 'buy it'. And I immediately realized it wasn't that he didn't ‘buy it’, but that he just didn't get it. While the first part is about Justine experiencing melancholia on an earthly level, the second is about Claire experiencing the same emotion on a more metaphysical level. Justine feels herself being pulled down to the earth by black bile that makes each step forward in her life almost impossible to take. She tries and tries to step forward but the thick muddy earth and her consuming depression suck all will to live out of her. And this causes her to smash everything. Of course she doesn’t kill everything out of want but out of an intense melancholic disposition, a humor that keeps her depressed even in moments that should be her happiest. Claire, on the other hand, experiences the emotion of melancholy differently, which is not a literal story to believe or not believe, buy or not buy. For Claire, her melancholia is like Saturn approaching earth, a heavy magic spell that is like planets colliding and closing in on her, suffocating her, killing her. She hallucinates that a planet (like Saturn) is approaching too close to earth and to her world (the advancing melancholic mood) and if it hits too close it will kill them all. Is this literal? I think not. We are dealing with a household of melancholia illnesses (Justine, Claire and now Claire’s son Leo) and because it is a disorder they will never be able to escape it. </p>
<p>What is melancholia? It’s a dark feeling that once it sets in it rides its course to the bitter end. No reasoning can quell it and no light can diminish its darkness. Melancholia knows no ceremony, it fails to perform as expected under all circumstance except to reveal itself. And like a cancer it spreads throughout the body and the mind killing everything else in its wake. If melancholy were described as a planet approaching it would come at full throbbing speed to its target, sometimes receding and then rushing in until it has collided. Does everyone experience such melancholy? No. This is a special condition. Only those who know her can understand or those who have come into contact and loved others that do. It is a sickness and though a feeling and psychological, it holds powers that possess its host with dark destructive nature, a will for the death of all things and to lie furthest away from the sun and light as possible. Who can forget one of the greatest melancholic characters of all time? - Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet, the &quot;Melancholy Dane.&quot; Come to think of it, what is it with Danes and Melancholy anyway? lol.</p>
<p>All I can say is this film defies description. It is a work of artistic precision and within it holds a perfect balance- of allegory and truth, reality and the surreal, reason and madness- which left me utterly speechless. MELANCHOLIA is by far one of the greatest films I have ever seen and will for me be regarded as one of the most important films of all time. How brave to make a film about a mood and to make that feeling the main nemesis? How genius to make the main subject of a film something that is only felt and experienced which proves only communicable through art? Again, I am at a loss for words. I will leave you with a few images which might lead you in some kind of direction of this unique masterpiece film, but the only thing you can do to make your own surmise is to see it and experience MELANCHOLIA for yourself. </p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>written by Vanessa McMahon, August 05, 2011 </p>
<p>’Melancholia’ premiered in May 2011 at the Cannes Film Festival. The press conference for the film received international attention when Lars von Trier made questionable comments about Hitler sympathizing with the Nazis and he was later named ‘persona non grata’ by the festival. Actress Kirsten Dunst won a Best Actress award for her stellar performance as Justine.
</p><p>below some images of 'melancholia'. </p>
<p> Albrecht Durer's 'Melancholia I'</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Everett_Millais_-_Ophelia_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" class="image"></a> John </span><span class="Apple-style-span">Everett Millais's 'Ophelia'</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>photos of Charlotte Rampling at SFF 2011 by Vanessa McMahon </p>
<p><a href="/en/image/charlotte_rampling_at_sff_2011_0"></a><a href="/en/image/charlotte_rampling_at_sff_2011"></a> <a href="/en/image/charlotte_rampling_at_sff_2011_2"></a><a href="/en/image/charlotte_rampling_at_sff_2011_1"></a></p>
<p><a href="/en/image/charlotte_rampling_at_sff_2011_0"></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>photos of Melancholia premier at Cannes 2011, by VM</p>
<p><a href="/en/image/melancholia_at_cannes"></a><a href="/en/image/melancholia_at_cannes_1"></a><a href="/en/image/melancholia_at_cannes_2"></a><a href="/en/image/melancholia_at_cannes_3"></a></p>
<p><a href="/en/image/melancholia_at_cannes_3"></a><a href="/en/image/melancholia_at_cannes_4"></a><a href="/en/image/melancholia_at_cannes_5"></a><a href="/en/image/melancholia_at_cannes_6"></a><a href="/en/image/melancholia_at_cannes_7"></a> </p>
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/melancholia#commentsAbnormal psychologyactressAlbrecht DurerArtsCannesCannesCharlotte GainsbourgCharlotte GainsbourgCharlotte RamplingCharlotte RamplingCinema of DenmarkClaireFamily RelationFilmsforwardHamletHitlerJohn Everett MillaisJustineJustineKirsten DunstLars von TrierLars Von TrierLeoMajor depressive disorderMelancholiaMELANCHOLIA...Mood disordersOpheliaPerson CareerPersonapremierPrinceSARAJEVOthe Cannes Film FestivalVanessa McMahonNewsFri, 05 Aug 2011 15:46:08 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival136097 at https://www.filmfestivals.comONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA, in Sarajevo...https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/once_upon_a_time_in_anatolia_in_sarajevo
<p>Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s latest film ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA (2011) premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival where the film won Grand Prix. A Turkish and Bosnian co-production, the film screened to audiences at the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival in the Open Air Theater on July 25th, 2011. The cast and crew attended a press conference at SFF on July 26th to answer questions in detail about their much beloved new film.</p>
<p>A stream of cars with illuminated headlights meanders through the countryside. Five men sit in our main car, their expression downcast. To pass the time, the men chitchat, sometimes joking and other times thinking aloud. One quiet man, Suspect Kenan, with a solemn aspect sits in the middle of the back with his eyes half shut, drifting. When his eyes open they are mysterious and intense, murderous and sorrowful. While nothing seams to be happening on the surface of this strange unanswered situation, the scene leaves us full of question. Who are these men? What are they all doing out in the middle of nowhere, freezing, somber and tired? It soon becomes clear that we are in search of a body and only our quiet prisoner Kenan with his dark mystifying countenance has the answer. Somewhere in these hills lies the body of a murdered man that they must find as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s style is all his own. An auteur in the truest sense, reminiscent of Lynch or Malick, he sways in and out of reality and dream so lyrically that the two worlds become one. In this film there is a scene where two tired searching men stand in a vacant field at night, looking out in the distance contemplating life and death. You don't know if the words are spoken aloud or merely being thought. The trees sway, the night shivers and the surrounding nature hums. The direction is so natural you forget you are watching a film and not sitting right next to them at that moment.</p>
<p>The night is long and the men tired and hungry. They find hospitality (few are as hospitable as the Turks) in the home of the Village Head who feeds them fresh lamb and sweet Turkish milk. We know there is honey fresh from the comb because the Prosecutor is offered some for himself. The House Head has his beautiful young daughter prepare some honey for him in a jar. The direction is so precise and real, I could practically smell the lamb, the bread, the honey and the blood. Only when the electricity abruptly snaps out that I remembered I was not actually at the dinner table with them. </p>
<p>Later when the lights illume again, the men sit around gas lamps while the House Head’s daughter serves them tea. Our dark and mysterious Kenan cries with emotion at the sight of her pure ingenuous face. Her countenance is angelic and innocent while he himself is guilty of murder. His reaction to her face is tears of guilt and shame. Suddenly, a man who we haven't seen before appears in the corner of the room. A ghost? One prisoner laughs with joy at the sight of the man; having thought him dead, he is relieved to see him alive. But the ghost-man is pale and the night shivers again, the trees outside whisper and nature hums. Is all of this real or just a dream?</p>
<p>When finally the body is found, we see it was the body of the ghost-man whose image we saw at night. There is relief from everyone that now this horrible search can end and they can return home. Some levity ensues and even cathartic tears of anger and disgust. But then a new reality sets in, the presence of dark death, and not just the idea of it. The body is carried to the trunk and the men pile back into the cars, their headlights on, the stream of cars snaking through the countryside once again, this time homeward bound. And here is where one journey ends and a new will begin.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>written by Vanessa McMahon </p>
<p>During the press conference in Sarajevo, Nuri told press and those present: “Chekov is always with me when I write my scripts because he wrote on every aspect of life so he is always with me.” </p>
<p>PRESS: You were an electrical engineer first. Who is to blame for you making the transition into filmmaking? Your travels? Your photography? The autobiography or Roman Polanski or Chekov? </p>
<p>NURI: I don’t know, of course. Maybe a total of everything. I think when I decided to become a director there was no art around me. There was photography. </p>
<p>PRESS: How is it that every movie you make wins a prize at Cannes? It’s almost impossible and must be making a lot of directors jealous.</p>
<p>NURI: I cannot say anything about this because that’s not my feeling because when I finish a movie, I always have a bad feeling about the movie because when I finish a movie I am not satisfied, because I am always concentrated on the weak side of the movie so I’m not expecting it to be accepted into these festivals. Maybe I am a very pessimistic person. But then when they select it for something I am always surprised. </p>
<p>Well, Nuri the perfectionist seems to have struck a chord because while some are indifferent to the film and others just haven’t seen it, many who have seen it agree it is one of the most ‘perfect’ films they have ever seen. A lyrical masterpiece set in Turkey and a name to tower above others…’Once Upon a Time in Anatolia’. </p>
<p>written by Vanessa McMahon July 31, 2011</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>photos by Vanessa McMahon at SFF 2011 </p>
<p><a href="/en/image/once_upon_a_time_in_anatolia_in_sarajevo"></a></p>
<p><a href="/en/image/once_upon_a_time_in_anatolia_in_sarajevo"></a><span class="caption"><b>Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan</b></span> </p>
<p><a href="/en/image/once_upon_a_time_in_anatolia_in_sarajevo_1"></a><a href="/en/image/once_upon_a_time_in_anatolia_in_sarajevo_0"></a><a href="/en/image/once_upon_a_time_in_anatolia_in_sarajevo_2"></a></p>
<p>photos below of cast and crew of OUTIA at Cannes 2011, by Vanessa McMahon</p>
<p><a href="/en/image/outia_1"></a><a href="/en/image/outia_2"></a><a href="/en/image/actor_taner_birsel_our_grand_despair"></a><a href="/en/image/actor_taner_birsel_our_grand_despair_2011"></a></p>
<p><a href="/en/image/actor_taner_birsel_our_grand_despair_2011"></a><a href="/en/image/cast_and_crew_of_once_upon_a_time_in_anatolia_cannes_2011"></a><a href="/en/image/outia"></a><a href="/en/image/outia_0"></a> <a href="/en/image/outia_3"></a></p>
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/once_upon_a_time_in_anatolia_in_sarajevo#commentsCannesCannesCannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalCeylanCinema of TurkeyConvictionDirectorelectrical engineerelectricityEntertainmentEntertainmentFilmsGrand PrixHuman InterestHuman Interestin Sarajevo...KenanMilitary personnelNuriNuri Bilge CeylanNURI BILGE CEYLANOnce Upon A Time In AnatoliaOnce Upon a Time in AnatoliaPavel ChekovPerson CareerprosecutorQuotationRoman PolanskiSARAJEVOStar Trekthe 17th Sarajevo Film FestivalTurkeyVanessa McMahonFILMWed, 03 Aug 2011 11:42:47 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135870 at https://www.filmfestivals.com17th annual SFF Awards https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/17th_annual_sff_awards
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photo from SFF official site: http://www.sff.ba/news/show/id/834
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Sarajevo Film Festival Proudly Presents Award Winners 201117th SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL – OFFICIAL AWARDS
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COMPETITION PROGRAMME – FEATURE FILM
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Jury:Jury President:ARI FOLMAN, Director, Israel
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Jury members:ALBERTO BARBERA, Director of the National Museum of Cinema, ItalyZANA MARJANOVIĆ, Actress, Bosnia and Herzegovina MICHELE OHAYON, Director, producer, writer, USARIZVAN RADULESCU, Scriptwriter and director, Romania
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The Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Film:BREATHING / ATMEN Director: Karl Markovics Austria
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The financial prize for this Award, in the amount of € 25.000.
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Special Jury Award:AVÉ Director: Konstantin BojanovBulgaria
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The financial prize for this Award, in the amount of € 10.000, is provided by Agnes B.
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The Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Actress:Ada Condeescu (LOVERBOY)Romania
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The financial prize, in the amount of € 2.500, for this Award is provided by the Sarajevo International Airport.
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The Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Actor:Thomas Schubert (BREATHING / ATMEN)Austria
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The financial prize for this Award is € 2.500.
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COMPETITION PROGRAMME – SHORT FILM
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Jury:Jury President:MILCHO MANCHEVSKI, Director, Macedonia
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Jury members:JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BERJON, Artistic Director Semaine de la Critique, FranceERZEN SHKOLOLLI, Artist, Kosovo
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The Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Film:MEZZANINE / MEZANINDirector: Dalibor Matanić Croatia
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The financial prize for this Award is € 3.000.
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Special Jury Mentions:TAKE TWO / VTORI DUBALDirectress: Nadejda Koseva Bulgaria, Germany
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DOVE SEI, AMOR MIODirector: Veljko Popović Croatia
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COMPETITION PROGRAMME – DOCUMENTARY FILM
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Jury:LUCIANO BARISONE, Director of Visions du Réel Festival, SwitzerlandBILJANA GARVANLIEVA, Freelance author and director, MacedoniaDAVID RIEFF, Journalist and author, USA
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The Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Documentary Film:A CELLPHONE MOVIE / MOBITEL Director: Nedžad BegovićBiH
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This Award, in the amount of € 3.000, is provided by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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Human Rights Award:ECUMENOPOLIS: CITY WITHOUT LIMITS / EKÜMENOPOLIS: UCU OLMAYAN ŞEHIRDirector: Imre AzemTurkey, Germany
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This Award, in the amount of €3.000, is provided by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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HEART OF SARAJEVO HONORARY AWARD
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Angelina Jolie, Actress, USAEmil Tedeschi, Majority owner and President of the Governing Board of Atlantic GroupJafar Panahi, Director, Iran
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CINELINK AWARDS
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CineLink A Jury:BEHROOZ HASHEMIANČEDOMIR KOLAR JACQUELINE ADAGEORGES GOLDENSTERNANNAMARIA LODATOMEHMET DEMIRHANREMI BURAH
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EAVE scholarshipMARIA DRANDAKI
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Living Pictures Service Award, in kind support up to 10.000 EurosTHE WEDNESDAY CHILDDirector: Lili HorvathHungary
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International Relations Arte Price, 6.000 EurosHUMIDITY Director: Nikola LjucaSerbia
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Centre national de la cinematographie Award, 10.000 EurosSTAGE FRIGHT Director: Yorgos ZoisGreece
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Eurimages Award, 30.000 EurosYOZGAT BLUES Director: Mahmut Fazil CoskunTurkey
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Special MentionTOUCH ME NOT Director: Adina PintilieRomania
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CineLink Work in Progress Awards
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CineLink Work in Progress Jury:CAMILLE NEEL REBEKKA GARRIDO CAROLINE LIBRESCO
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Restart Award in kind support in amount of 20.000 EurosCHILD MINERDirectress: Alexandra GuleaRomania
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Post Republic Award, in kind postproduction services, 80.000 EurosMOLD Director: Ali AydinTurkey
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photos by Vanessa McMahon
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/17th_annual_sff_awards#comments17th annual SFF Awards201117th SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVALactoractressAda CondeescuAdina PintilieRomaniaAlberto BarberaAlexandra GuleaRomaniaAli AydinTurkeyAngelina JolieAri FolmanArtistArtisticAtlantic GroupJafar Panahiauthor and directorBEHROOZ HASHEMIANČEDOMIR KOLARBosnia and HerzegovinaCamille NeelCaroline LibrescoContact DetailsDirectordirector , producerEntertainmentEntertainmentGermanyhttp://www.sff.ba/news/show/id/834Human InterestHuman InterestImre AzemTurkeyIranIsraelJACQUELINE ADAGEORGES GOLDENSTERNANNAMARIAJEAN-CHRISTOPHE BERJONjournalist and authorKarl MarkovicsKonstantin BojanovBulgariaKosovoLili HorvathHungaryLuciano BarisoneMacedoniaMichèle OhayonMilcho ManchevskiMilčo MančevskiNational Museum of CinemaNikola LjucaSerbiaPerson Careerpresidentproducer , writerREBEKKA GARRIDORomaniaSarajevoSARAJEVOSarajevo Film FestivalSarajevo Film FestivalSarajevo International Airportscriptwriter and directorSemaine de la CritiqueSwiss Ministry of Foreign AffairsTechnologyTechnologyThe Heart of
Sarajevo AwardThomas SchubertUnited StatesUSARIZVAN RADULESCUVanessa McMahonVeljko PopovićVisionsVisions du Réel FestivalAWARDSMon, 01 Aug 2011 18:08:36 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135711 at https://www.filmfestivals.comAngelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at SFF https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/angelina_jolie_and_brad_pitt_at_sff
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">photo from SFF press official site</span></span>
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A surprise attendance of the world's most famous movie couple, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, came as a shock to all inside and outside of Sarajevo's National Theater on closing night of the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival on July 30th, 2011.
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Angelina has a special place in her heart for Bosnia's capital city as she has just finished her directorial debut which was shot in Bosnia, a love story set during the Yugoslav wars called, IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY (2011). Sarajevo also holds Angelina dear in its heart as she was awarded the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award.
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<p>When she accepted her award, she said this about her experience and love affair with this country, “I’m so happy to be in this remarkable city in this beautiful country and I’ve spent the last year lucky enough to experience not just the warmth and the hospitality of the local people but also your extraordinary talent [...] In my career, I have never worked with such disciplined and talented artists as I was able to this last year”. </p>
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Angelina made a photo op with her silver Sarajevo heart award and also presented the award for Best Actor to Austrian actor Thomas Schubert from the competition film BREATHING/ATMEN (Austria, 2011).
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To read more about Angelina's special appearance at SFF 2011, see this page on the SFF official site: &quot;Presenting the Honorary Hear of Sarajevo before a capacity crowd in the National Theatre, Mirsad Purivatra, Director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, said: “Tonight, we present this Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award to a remarkable actress, not only for her extraordinary career in the world of film, but also for her remarkable engagement in the real world, which we are all equally a part of.” ... read more here: <a href="http://www.sff.ba/news/show/id/843" title="http://www.sff.ba/news/show/id/843">http://www.sff.ba/news/show/id/843</a>
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photos by Vanessa McMahon
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/angelina_jolie_and_brad_pitt_at_sff#commentsactoractressAmerican film directorsAngelinaAngelina JolieAngelina JolieAngelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at SFFBosnia and HerzegovinaBrad PittBrad PittBreathingCDATACinema of the United StatesContact DetailsDirectorEntertainmentEntertainmentFilmshttp://www.sff.ba/news/show/id/843In the Land of Blood and HoneyMirsad PurivatraNationalityPerson CareerQuotationSarajevoSARAJEVOSFFthe 17th Sarajevo Film Festivalthe Sarajevo Film FestivalThomas SchubertVanessa McMahonPEOPLEMon, 01 Aug 2011 17:35:26 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135691 at https://www.filmfestivals.comThe Forgiveness of Blood at SFF 2011 https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/the_forgiveness_of_blood_at_sff_2011
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<p>THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD (2011) screened at SFF 2011 in the Open Air cinema. Director Joshua Marston and his main cast Tristan Halilaj and Sindi Laçej appeared at the festival to attend press conferences, talent campus labs and Q and A's after screenings of their film. </p>
<p>The very much talked about and gripping film, The Forgiveness of Blood, by American director and pioneering arthouse/foreign film advocate (director of Maria Full of Grace, 2004), opened at the 2011 Berlinale Film Festival. FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD is wowing audiences everywhere and showing the world a glimpse into the realities of contemporary Albania as it races forward with dizzying globalization and yet continues to cling onto its past with dear life. </p>
<p>Film summary by SFF official site: 'Nik is an energetic 17-year-old in his last year of high school in Northern Albania. He is embarking on his first romance with a girl in his class and plans to open his own internet café after graduation. His sister, Rudina, is a bright, mature fifteen-year-old who aspires to go to college. When a local land dispute results in their father Mark being accused of murder, the family is drawn into a deadly blood feud. The rules of the Kanun, a centuries-old Balkan code of law, force Nik, his 7 year old brother and the other male members of his family into virtual house arrest.'</p>
<p>read more about the film here: <a href="http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1466" title="http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1466">http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1466</a></p>
<p>photo by Vanessa McMahon </p>
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<p>Albanian actors from the film Tristan Halilaj (left), Sindi Laçej (right) and in the middle, Albanian's treasured film composer Aldo Shllaku.</p>
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/the_forgiveness_of_blood_at_sff_2011#commentsadvocateAlbaniaAlbanian cultureAldo ShllakuCDATACinema of the United StatescomposerContact DetailsDirectorEntertainmentEntertainmentFamily RelationForgivenessforwardhttp://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1466IndictmentJoshua MarstonJoshua MarstonKanunMarkMovie ReleaseNorthern AlbaniaOpen Air cinemaPerson CareerRudinaSindi LaçejTechnologyTechnologythe 2011 Berlinale Film FestivalThe Forgiveness of BloodTHE FORGIVENESS OF BLOODThe Forgiveness of Blood at SFF 2011Tristan HalilajVanessa McMahonNewsMon, 01 Aug 2011 10:55:53 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135634 at https://www.filmfestivals.comMORGEN at SFF 2011https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/morgen_at_sff_2011
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MORGEN (2010) screened 'IN FOCUS' at this year's Sarajevo Film Festival, SFF, 2011. Director Marian Crisan attended the festival in support of his multiple award winning film.
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To read more about the film at SFF: http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1585
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Read below a review of the film MORGEN.
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This definitely seems to be a year full of films about the ever increasing global situation of international border crossing… from ‘For A Moment, Freedom’ (2009, Iran) to ‘Illegal’ (2010, Belgium) to ‘The Albanian’ (2010, Germany) and the internationally award-winning film ‘Morgen’ (2010, Romania) by director Marian Crisan. While each film shows its unique and gripping personal story, ‘Morgen’ surprises through its expressive simplicity.
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Question: What do you get when you mix ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ (USA, 1987) and ‘The Visitor’ (USA, 2007), minus all sex and violence? Answer: Something a little bit like ‘Morgen’ (2010, Romania) by Romanian director Marian Crisan, but also totally different. Unfortunately, I missed seeing this film when it screened at TIFF (2010 Thessaloniki Film Festival) where it ran in competition this last December. Hence, my writing about it now as I have only just finished screening the film, still listening to the haunting A Capella voice of the film’s main character, Behran (played by Yilmaz Yalcin).
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There is almost nil violence in this film; rather, it is paradoxical in its nature using a very tough subject of much heated contention and portraying it in such a graceful and modest way. More than a story about a Kurdish/Turkish illegal alien on the run, this is a buddy story about a man on the road escaping his mysterious and difficult past towards an unknown future and the unlikely friendship he develops on the way.
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Nelu (played by Andras Hathazi) is a middle-aged Romanian man who lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere outside Salonta, Romania and works at a local supermarket. One day while going about his daily business, he is visited by a Turkish illegal alien on the run who pleads with Nelu to let him stay concealed in the farm. Nelu is a simple and compassionate man so he lets Behran stay just for the night. One night turns into several as the relationship grows between these two men. They form a bittersweet unlikely friendship that develops between them, despite the fact that neither speak each other’s language nor understands one word of each person says throughout the entire film. Salonta rests near the border with Hungary, Behran’s next destination, and thus Behran stays there under Nelu’s protection and hospitality until he can finally leave.
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A Palme d'Or winner of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival <span> </span>for his short film <b><span>Megatron</span></b>, Marian Crisan went on to make ‘Morgen’ which has since received four jury awards at the 2010 Locarno Film Festival and three jury awards at the 2010 TIFF, Thessaloniki Film Festival. <span></span>
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written by, Vanessa McMahon on February 28, 2011
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<span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/marian_crisans_morgen_0"> </a></span> <span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/marian_crisans_morgen"></a></span>
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photos taken by Vanessa McMahon at Thessaloniki Film Festival 2010 of Romanian directors Bogdan A Petri (left) and Marian Crisan (right).
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Read more about Morgan here:
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<a href="http://www.fest21.com/en/blog/thessaloniki_international_film_festival/marian_crisans_morgenLocarno:" title="http://www.fest21.com/en/blog/thessaloniki_international_film_festival/marian_crisans_morgenLocarno:">http://www.fest21.com/en/blog/thessaloniki_international_film_festival/m...</a>
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<a href="http://ro20.mae.ro/uncategorized/%E2%80%9Cmorgen%E2%80%9D-by-marian-crisan-second-round-of-awards-for-romania-at-locarno-film-festival/" title="http://ro20.mae.ro/uncategorized/%E2%80%9Cmorgen%E2%80%9D-by-marian-crisan-second-round-of-awards-for-romania-at-locarno-film-festival/">http://ro20.mae.ro/uncategorized/%E2%80%9Cmorgen%E2%80%9D-by-marian-cris...</a>
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see trailer here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkab2o0aEzk" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkab2o0aEzk">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkab2o0aEzk</a>
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/morgen_at_sff_2011#comments2010 Thessaloniki Film FestivalAndras HathaziBelgiumBogdan A PetriContact DetailsDirectorFilmsGermanyhttp://ro20.mae.ro/uncategorized/%E2%80%9Cmorgen%E2%80%9D-by-marian-crishttp://www.fest21.com/en/blog/thessaloniki_international_film_festival/mhttp://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1585http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkab2o0aEzkIN FOCUSIranMarian CrisanMorgenMORGEN at SFF 2011Palme d'OrPerson CareerRomaniaSarajevo Film Festivalthe 2008 Cannes Film Festivalthe 2010 Locarno Film FestivalThe VisitorThessaloniki Film FestivalThessaloniki International Film FestivalVanessa McMahonFILMMon, 01 Aug 2011 10:08:22 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135622 at https://www.filmfestivals.comLOVERBOY at SIFF 2011 https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/loverboy_at_siff_2011
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Catalin Mitulescu's latest film LOVERBOY (Romania, 2011) screened in competition (features) at the 17th SIFF. Actress Ada Condeescu received and award for BEST ACTRESS at the closing night award ceremony.
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Cast of the film includes: George Piştereanu, Ada Condeescu, Ion Besoiu, Clara Vodă, Bogdan Dumitrache, Coca Bloos, Remus Mărginean, Alexandru Mititelu, Adina Galupa.
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At the press conference SFF 2011, director Catalin and actor George were asked what the meaning of LOVE means to them personally. Actor George Piştereanu said, 'No love is like being in a desert with no water'.
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Summary of film from SFF official page: 'Luca (20) seduces girls then leaves them in the hands of his friends at the Black Sea port of Constanta. Luca falls in love with Veli, one of his potential victims. It's summer down the Danube river, in Harsova. The music is loud, the cars are fancy, the girls are tanned and Veli runs away from home in Luca's bed. First love has never felt more dangerous.'
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to read more, visit the official site: <a href="http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1488" title="http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1488">http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1488</a>
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STAY TUNED FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER DANIEL MITULESCU.
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photos by Vanessa McMahon
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/loverboy_at_siff_2011#commentsactoractressAda CondeescuAdina GalupaArtsBlack SeaBlack Sea port of ConstantaBogdan DumitracheCatalin MitulescuClara VodăContact DetailsDaniel MitulescuDirectorEntertainmentEntertainmentFilmsGeorge Pistereanuhttp://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1488Ion BesoiuLoverboyLOVERBOY at SIFF 2011MusicPerson CareerProducerQuotationVanessa McMahonFILMMon, 01 Aug 2011 10:00:17 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135621 at https://www.filmfestivals.comJANE EYRE at SFF 2011 https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/jane_eyre_at_sff_2011
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<p>The latest JANE EYRE (2011), directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga screened in the open air theater in Sarajevo at SFF. And did my skin shiver with goosebumps (not only because of post rain cold outdoor air) when Jane (played by Mia Wasikowska) answered to all of Edward Rochester's (played by Michael Fassbender) very cloudy English stoicism with such chilling yet captivating self-assured humility. I fell in love with Jane myself! </p>
<p>read summary of film and more here: </p>
<p>http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1565</p>
<p>Fukunaga and Michael Fassbender appeared for press conferences and workshops in the Talent Campus.</p>
<p>photos by Vanessa McMahon</p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="/en/image/jane_eyre_at_sff_2011_0"></a></span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="/en/image/jane_eyre_at_sff_2011_0"></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="caption"><b>Cary and Michael at Talent Campus</b></span></span> </p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="/en/image/jane_eyre_at_sff_2011_1"></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="/en/image/jane_eyre_at_sff_2011"></a></span> </p>
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/jane_eyre_at_sff_2011#comments11495 FukunagaCary FukunagaCary Joji FukunagaCDATAContact DetailsEdward RochesterFassbenderFilmhttp://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1565IntertextualityJane EyreJANE EYRE at SFF 2011LiteratureMia WasikowskaMia WasikowskaMichael FassbenderMichael FassbenderSARAJEVOTalent CampusVanessa McMahonNewsMon, 01 Aug 2011 08:59:52 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135611 at https://www.filmfestivals.comBroken Mussels at SFF 2011 https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/broken_mussels_at_sff_2011
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The Turkish film BROKEN MUSSELS (2011) screened in competition (features) at this year's SFF. Directed by Seyfettin Tokmak, the film is about the struggles of immigration and fight for survival in one of the biggest metropoles in the world, Istanbul.
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Read here for a full summary of film and film credits:
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<a href="http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1508" title="http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1508">http://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1508</a>
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photos of SFF Broken Mussels press conference by Vanessa McMahon
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<a href="/en/image/broken_mussels_at_sff_2011"></a><span class="caption"><b>Broken Mussels</b></span>
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<span class="caption"><b> 2011</b></span>
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<a href="/en/image/broken_mussels_at_sff_2011_0"></a>
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/broken_mussels_at_sff_2011#commentsBROKEN MUSSELS at SFF 2011CDATAContact DetailsFood and drinkhttp://www.sff.ba/film/show/id/1508IstanbulMusselVanessa McMahonXMLZoologyFILMMon, 01 Aug 2011 08:39:48 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135607 at https://www.filmfestivals.comOUR GRAND DESPAIR at SFF 2011https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/our_grand_despair_at_sff_2011
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</p><p>The Turkish film OUR GRAND DESPAIR (2011) screened in the IN FOCUS section in Sarajevo during the SFF 2011. Directed by Seyfi Teoman, The film saw its open at the 2011 Berlinale and this lyrical tribute to love and life's little ironies continues to make its way to festivals around the world. </p>
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<p>**Read an in depth interview with the film's award winning DOP, Birgit Gudjonsdottir, here:</p>
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<p>On April 17th, during the closing ceremony of the 30th Istanbul Film Festival (IFF), the award for the best DOP went to Birgit Gudjonsdottir for her work in the Turkish film, OUR GRAND DESPAIR (2011). Recently, I conducted an interview with the award-winning and highly accomplished DOP/Producer. Aside from working on widely known films such as THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004) and GOODBYE LENIN! (2003), she has worked as DOP on a number of documentaries, most recently including IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS LIGHT (2010) and her latest project THEY WERE NOT THE ONLY ONES (2011). We spoke about her work on OUR GRAND DESPAIR (2011), which premiered in competition at this year’s Berlinale 2011. </p>
<p>ME: Hi Birgit, we are here to talk about your work on OUR GRAND DESPAIR, which is in Turkish, BIZIM BUYUK CARESIZLIGIMIZ? (Here of course I massacred the Turkish pronouncing of the film. LOL)</p>
<p>BIRGIT: I was really practicing to say it the right way for a long time because I am not speaking Turkish a lot still. There are only a few words that I learned while filming but I didn’t learn very much. It’s a very difficult language and it’s completely different to what we are used to and now I am starting to hear words. In the beginning everything started the same. Now I am starting to hear words and recognizing them but still I don’t understand. </p>
<p>ME: Funny. So, can you first tell us about your film? What is it about?</p>
<p>BIRGIT: Our film is about friendship. And it’s based on a book. People have told me that the film is just what the book is though it’s telling different things about it and it’s leaving out of course a lot of things which were in the book, but people are very happy with it, how the film is according to the book. So, it seems to have hit on the right spot. And also, the writer of the book Barış Bıçakçı, was also writing the script together with our director. So, that’s why the film is working very well. And it’s about friendship. About two friends who have known each other since school, since they were eight years-old or something. In school time they were working a lot together and cooking a lot together. So, cooking is a special thing in this film. </p>
<p>ME: Ah, Turkish culture and cuisine as well. Wonderful!</p>
<p>BIRGIT: Yeah. The peaceful cohabitation of the two friends Ender and Çetin is disrupted when they allow a friend's sister to move in with them. Her parents just died in a car accident. Her Brother is living in Germany but she is alone now in Ankara and she has still 2 years to go in school. So, this friend asks his two friends if they can take care of his sister. So, now comes into this flat with these two best friends, a young girl. So, it starts with them living together. In the beginning, she doesn’t want to talk. She’s very sad and takes her time until they start to live peacefully in a nice way together and, of course, both men fall in love with her. </p>
<p>ME: Awe. And who does she end up with? Both? Neither?</p>
<p>BIRGIT: No, there’s nobody. In the end she is leaving and she’s going to Berlin and there’s nothing happening there.</p>
<p>ME: But they fall in love with her in their life.</p>
<p>BIRGIT: Yes. When they were young they talked about falling in love with the same woman, but now they are two caring and protecting gentlemen and Nihal the young woman get´s very touched by the men´s loyal friendship. Ender and Cetin are like an old married couple. After realizing that they both have fallen in love with Nihal they don´t want to confuse her with their feelings. So, that’s the story, about this friendship between them, what’s happening in this two year timespan. And then she leaves and they keep on living their lives. </p>
<p>ME: Ah, that’s a beautiful premise for a film. What does the title: ‘Our Grand Despair’ mean? Is she the ‘grand despair’?</p>
<p>BIRGIT: That’s a good question. Yeah, that’s about their life. But it’s not that there is a big ‘grand despair’. It’s just about what is in life when you’re dreaming. </p>
<p>ME: So, it’s a beautiful sweet despair through love and life. Like a welcome despair.</p>
<p>BIRGIT: Yes, it’s a ‘welcome despair’! That’s the right idea. </p>
<p>ME: You’re the prize winning DOP of the film. Can you tell us about how you shot the film and your experience shooting the film?</p>
<p>BIRGIT: Yeah. We shot on 35mm. It was the idea of the idea of the director Seyfi Teoman to shoot cinemascope so I proposed the use anamorphic lenses for that. </p>
<p>ME: Can you tell our readers what are anamorphic lenses?</p>
<p>BIRGIT: You have different ways to shoot cinemascope. Either you make it like a letterbox or you are using lenses which squeeze the picture so it fits on a bigger part of the negative so you’re using the whole part of the negative as much as possible. And then in the projection room they put a special lens on it which takes the squeeze out and then you get a special look to it. I always have the feeling that working with anamorphic lenses it’s a little bit more 3D feeling to it. It looks different. There is a tiny little but different look to anamorphic films. But these lenses are little bit more expensive. That’s the reason why not all cinema films are shot with anamorphic lenses. You have to take a little more care of how you are doing your framing than with spherical lenses. And we did some tests comparing how to shoot in 35mm and anamorphic 35mm is still the best choice of everything.</p>
<p>ME: Yeah. Always.</p>
<p>BIRGIT: So, we are shooting with 35mm with anamorphic lenses and we had a very small team because it is a low budget film. We were only 30 people on the crew so not very many. Only focus puller was from Germany. But all the rest of the team- my gaffer and my dolly grip were Turkish. It was a very young team and I had a wonderful crew. For the DOP the work with the gaffer is always very important and it’s always important to have a very good gaffer. I had Elisin Aldimir who was a young Turkish gaffer. He had not so much experience but he did a great job. It was wonderful. We had some days where we had to get used to each other and to get adjusted the way I wanted the light to be but it was wonderful collaboration. I thought in the beginning, coming as a female DOP to Turkey…I didn’t know what to expect and it working in Turkey was wonderful experience. I really loved it.</p>
<p>ME: That’s fantastic. Wow. So, how was it to have your world premiere in Berlin this year? </p>
<p>BIRGIT: That was wonderful. It was for me a very nice unexpected gift. I didn’t think about that. I never dreamed about seeing my film in the Berlinale competition. So it was a very good and nice experience to see it there. </p>
<p>ME: And this was a co-production between Germany and Turkey? Was that a very difficult long process?</p>
<p>BIRGIT: It was not very long process. I think it only took them around one year to get together and to get the film financed. There is German co-production money and there is also a little bit from the Netherlands. So, the sound was done in Holland and I was the German co-production part and we did also the post-production and film print (premiere print) we did in Germany. So, that was the German part and the rest was done in Turkey. So, the main producer was Turkey. </p>
<p>ME: We talked about this last night at the party but how is it being a female DOP? </p>
<p>BIRGIT: I mean, when I started I didn’t think about it. I just learned to be a photographer. I went to a special photography school and when I came out of the school I just got a chance to work on a film so I started to work in film. Then I started working a lot on commercials and I was always doing the pack shots and then one day they asked me to do commercials so I started my career as a DOP in commercials. After that I started doing documentary films and later working on feature films. In the beginning I wasn’t thinking about it being difficult as a woman. Until ten years ago when I moved to Germany because there was so much work there in Germany. There I realized that it can be much more easy than what I was used to. I got my first feature film and my first 90 minute TV film shortly after I moved and things got so much easier. After experiencing it so much easier in Germany than it is in Austria I started to realize that it´s not only the “normal” difficulties but that as an woman you have to fight a little bit more. But because I was used to fight my way from my childhood on, I thought that fighting was normal. I didn’t realize before that it could be so much easier. The first film I did as DOP, which was for cinema, they needed a female cinematographer. So, sometimes there’s a chance because they need a female cinematographer because of the subject or whatever. So, sometimes it’s a chance but…</p>
<p>ME: This being a Turkish film, is it widely seen? Will this film be seen outside of Europe? </p>
<p>BIRGIT: Of course we are hoping for that. The film and the story is international. For Turkey, I am very excited to see how the film is working in Turkey because it might be that many people see the film as an arthouse film but it shouldn’t be that way. I have the feeling it’s much more than an art-house film. It’s telling a story about modern Turkey and for me that’s very important. There are so many Turkish people living in Germany and most Germans have a completely different picture of Turkey. They don’t realize this modern part of Turkey because they are only used to what they see in Germany. The Turkish people, which came to Germany they came there because they didn’t have enough work at home. Most of them came from very poor areas with less education than what is common in Turkey today. So for that reason I think it’s very important to illustrate the modern aspect of this country and I hope that the film will be shown in many cinemas, at least in Europe, to give people a different and new view of Turkey. </p>
<p>ME: Is this your first award as a DOP?</p>
<p>BIRGIT: [smiling] Yes. I am very proud of it. </p>
<p>ME: DOPs can make great directors, from what I’ve seen. So, do you have any thoughts to direct in the future?</p>
<p>BIRGIT: No, not so far. I mean, I have an idea for a documentary film but I haven’t thought about directing. For feature films I always think it needs two people. It’s so important that there’s a director and a director of photography. For me the creativity develops more in a team. When two people are talking together to find the best way and with which pictures to to show the film´s story. so it’s a mix where ideas come together and grow strong and it’s never the same.</p>
<p>ME: So, what’s next and where to next?</p>
<p>BIRGIT: Next I am shooting a documentary film about artists in Iceland, which is for me very nice because I am originally Icelandic. And then there are two feature films which are still in the pipeline to be financed. So, I am hoping this autumn or winter it will come but I don’t know yet. It’s like a lottery. I have a producer friend that said, ‘getting a film made is only a chance above winning the lottery’.</p>
<p>ME: Right. Or like Russian roulette. Well, you can be proud you have a finished film. That’s almost a miracle in these days and to now have an award! Congratulations on your success and I look forward to seeing your next GRAND works. Hope to see you on stage winning more awards and inspiring women cinematographers everywhere.</p>
<p>Interview conducted and transcribed by Vanessa McMahon </p>
<p>FILM SUMMARY:“The peaceful cohabitation of bachelors Ender and Cetin is disrupted when they allow a friend's sister to move in with them. The 30-something longtime friends are overwhelmed by the presence of the uncommunicative Nihal. What possessed them to accept the responsibility of a university student in their home? Especially a girl struggling with the trauma of recently losing her parents in a car accident. But simple daily rituals like sharing meals eventually bring the three roommates together for more pleasant moments. Nihal soon comes out of her depressed shell and the two men discover a vibrant beautiful young woman. Always caring and protective gentlemen, Ender and Cetin are intent on being conscientious guardians. Nihal enjoys discussing literature and poetry with scholarly Ender, and she finds comfort in boisterous Cetin's earthy humor. Nihal is touched by the men's loyal friendship: in a sort of bromance since high school, Ender and Cetin now seem like an old married couple... Before they see what's coming, both men fall in love with the enchanting Nihal. But Ender and Cetin don't want to disrespect their good friend nor confuse his still-fragile sister. Ender and Cetin seesaw between feeling like protective fathers to acting like nervous school boys, wondering if they should confess their true feelings to Nihal...”Summary written by anonymous</p>
<p>photos of Birgit at closing night of IFF, by Vanessa McMahon </p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="/en/image/birgit_gudjonsdottir_at_iff_2011"></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="/en/image/30th_iff_the_closing_party"></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></p>
<p>photos below of Turkish actor Taner Birsel from the film OUR GRAND DESPAIR (2011) who also appeared at Cannes with another Turkish film, ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA (2011) </p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/actor_taner_birsel_our_grand_despair_2011"></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="/en/image/actor_taner_birsel_our_grand_despair"></a></span></span></span></span></p>
https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/our_grand_despair_at_sff_2011#commentsactorAnamorphic formatAnkaraBerlinBirgit GudjonsdottirCannesCannesDirectordirector and a directorElisin AldimirEntertainmentEntertainmentEuropeFilmsforwardGermanyIcelandMass mediaNetherlandsOur Grand DespairOUR GRAND DESPAIR at SFF 2011Person CareerPerson LocationPerson TravelPhotographerProducerQuotationSARAJEVOSeyfi TeomanTaner Birselthe 30th Istanbul Film FestivalTodayTurkeyVanessa McMahonVideowriterNewsMon, 01 Aug 2011 08:23:58 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135602 at https://www.filmfestivals.comWE HAVE A POPE, 17TH SFFhttps://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/we_have_a_pope_17th_sff
<p>WE HAVE A POPE (HABEMUS PAPAM, Italy, 2011) </p>
<p>This year at Cannes Nanni Moretti’s latest film, HEBEMUS PAPAM, screened in competition. Tonight on July 26th, 2011, the film will screen at the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF). Nanni Moretti arrived yesterday in Sarajevo to present his film.</p>
<p>The film is about a new pope (played by Michel Piccoli) who decides he cannot take the colossal responsibility of his new public role and ends up seeking psychological help to come to terms with his private past. In the morning before the film’s world premier at the Cannes press conference, a circus of press swarmed around the adored Italian director. While I did not attend the premier I screened the film in Rome just days after the festival.</p>
<p>The film starts out promising with a virtuoso balance between the serious and comical. We have the cardinals flitting about the Vatican, puffed up with anxiety over the fretful situation as they vote for their new pope and when the pope is elected he is so overwhelmed by the new role that he experiences a panic attack and refuses to face the millions of waiting pious Catholics outside in the Vatican square and the millions watching via satellite TV. The pope decides he needs time to figure out his past before assuming his papacy. For this reason, Cardinal Gregori (played by Renato Scarpa) brings in a psychologist (played by Nanni Moretti) to help the pope resolve his problems as quickly as possible so he can assume his newly elected position. This is where the movie promises to be an adventure and tips more over to the comical than the dramatic. The pope runs away and the psychoanalyst begins analyzing all the cardinals and nuns of the Vatican instead while the pope loses himself in comfortable anonymity wandering Rome streets and seeks his own psychological counsel from a female psychoanalyst (played by Margherita Buy). </p>
<p>While the film reminded me of a cross between ANALYZE THIS (1999) and ANALYZE THAT (2002), midway through the film, Nanni the psychologist coaches an overdrawn game of volleyball between the nuns and cardinals in the Vatican courtyard. This is where the film comes to a screeching halt for me. One doesn’t know whether to feel sorry for the pope who is on a lonely pilgrimage journey through Rome or for the film itself as it started off so promising and then fails to keep its momentum. If it’s a critique on the church then it cuts without sting. And if it's about the struggle within oneself between the will of spiritual social duty of one who must live for the group (the Catholic Church in this case) and the will towards psychological self-individuation, then the pope is left hanging in the air and we never really see him make that arc. In sum, my feeling is that while the film could’ve been really about something, it only vaguely scratches the surface making about as much noise as a sneeze during vespers. While the film was entertaining, well directed and the acting superb, I expected a lot more from NANNI THE GREAT. But, if you like Nanni Moretti and you liked ANALYZE THIS, you might just enjoy seeing this witty ROMAN/COMEDY.</p>
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<p>Written by Vanessa McMahon July 26, 2011</p>
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<p><span>Nani Moretti, <span>Director</span> <span>(WE HAVE A POPE)</span></span></p>
<p>photo from OFFICIAL SFF 17 FESTIVAL SITE:</p>
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<p>www.sff.ba/content.php/en/guests?site=sff</p>
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https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/we_have_a_pope_17th_sff#comments17TH SFFCannesCannesCardinalCatholic ChurchCinema of ItalyContact DetailscounselDirectorFilmsHabemus PapamHEBEMUS PAPAMItalian filmsItalyMargherita BuyMichel PiccoliMichel PiccoliNani MorettiNanni MorettiNanni MorettiPapal conclavePAPAMPerson CareerPerson LocationPerson TravelPopepremierPrivatepsychologistRenato ScarpaRomeSARAJEVOsatellite TVthe 17th Sarajevo Film Festivalthe CannesVanessa McMahonVatican squareWE HAVE A POPEWe Have a Popewww.sff.ba/content.php/en/guests?site=sffNewsTue, 26 Jul 2011 08:14:01 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135080 at https://www.filmfestivals.comMOTHERS at SFF 17!https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/mothers_at_sff_17
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</p><p>MOTHERS (2010) by director Milcho Manchevski will screen at the 17th Sarajevo International Film Festival (SFF) 2011. Here find a review of the award-winning film that saw its opening in Toronto at TIFF 2010 and continues to travel to festivals around the globe. </p>
<p>MOTHERS, a rave review! </p>
<p>Fiction, nonfiction, and everything else in between and without- this is the dizzying dialectic of Milcho Manchevski’s latest film MOTHERS (2010). MOTHERS is a feature film structured as a triptych of three parts, of ‘mothers’ in modern-day Macedonia where each story is seemingly unrelated to the other, autonomous to itself, and yet linked in an abstract way. </p>
<p>The film begins with a fictional thesis- a story about two young girls upsetting their mother when they make up a story of a lewd man who has been allegedly flashing them. The girls make their complaint to the police about this supposed stalker. But are the girls sure of their facts? After all, they are playing witness to something they never actually saw themselves, only what their friends say they saw. But the girls believe this make-believe fantasy so much that it becomes reality for them. </p>
<p>The second film acts as another kind of fiction but with an element of nonfiction within it where three young twenty-something documentary filmmakers travel to the countryside of Macedonia. This is where steep tradition and age-old village life are visibly going extinct while technology and homogenous Westernization continue to lay siege in all corners of the world. These documentarians attempt to record what little remains of their rapidly fading culture while at the same time they get entangled in a fiery love triangle. </p>
<p>The third and final section proves an antithesis to both previous narrative fiction sections in its hard documentary style- gloomy lighting, gray colors, depressing subjects, too long and too real, forcing the viewer to question the link between the two previous films and this one. It is a documentary about the mysterious case of a serial rapist and killer in Macedonia who went for many years without being caught. When the alleged killer’s identity is revealed all are shocked to learn that he was a crime reporter who wrote about the murders themselves and lived next door to all the victims. He eventually died in a bucket of water in prison after he was caught, making the subject of this all too real documentary better than fiction in its outrageous irony. </p>
<p>With all these mixed genres and seemingly very separate stories, what does it all mean? The first film is short and riveting and leaves one in awe over the inventive imagination of a child and the consequences of it, and calls to question what we consider truth. And then we move on to the next story, which is told in a beautiful lyrical way, shaped like traditional narrative storytelling with actors, conflict and an arc. This is BEFORE THE RAIN (1994) stuff here and Milcho demonstrates his enduring ability to make a poignant, moving narrative film. With this stunning middle tale he draws the viewer in only to slap us in the face with his very jarring final film- the unattractive, and meticulously constructed factual documentary. </p>
<p>When asked about his strange transition from a harmonious and moving narrative film to a completely unrelated documentary he replied, ‘fiction is all nice and pretty but what are we going to do with the ugly reality?’ So, what does that say? It was loud and clear what his message was. Milcho wants us to think. Isn’t that what great art should do? Disturb us and make us feel something in order to care or be changed by it somehow?</p>
<p>Is the invented story of the two girls in the first film really fiction or does it remind us how real the imagination is and how something dreamed up can become truth if one believes it is? Is the third film, the documentary, trustworthy or could it be a biased point of view steeped with only half-truths? Who says something is ‘nonfiction’ and why should we believe it is so, just because someone tells us to? Or is the middle narrative film which strives to tell a story with as much verisimilitude as possible and in its poetry somehow hits on a truth that lies somewhere in between fiction and nonfiction? Therein is the eternal dialectic of what are reality and fantasy and our folly in sticking to one side over the other. MOTHERS forces us to question these blurred states of being (and non-being if you will) showing us once again as he did so expertly in BEFORE THE RAIN that the ‘circle is not round’.</p>
<p>Review written by Vanessa McMahon June 15, 2011</p>
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<p>*STAY TUNED FOR AN IN DEPTH INTERVIEW WITH MILCHO FROM 17TH SFF </p>
<p>photos taken in June 2011 at Aruba Film Festival </p>
<p>by Vanessa McMahon </p>
<p><span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski_in_aruba_6"></a><span class="caption"><b>Milcho Manchevski in Aruba</b></span></span></p>
<p><span class="inline inline-left"><span class="caption"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski_in_aruba_5"></a></span></b></span><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski_in_aruba_0"></a><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski"></a><b> </b></span><span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski"></a></span><span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski_in_aruba_0"></a></span><span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski_in_aruba_4"></a></span><span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski_in_aruba_3"></a></span><span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski_in_aruba_1"></a></span><span class="inline inline-left"><a href="/en/image/milcho_manchevski_in_aruba_2"></a></span></p>
https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/mothers_at_sff_17#commentsArubaBefore the RainDirectorDocumentary filmEntertainmentEntertainmentFictionFilmGenresLiteratureMacedoniaMilcho ManchevskiMilčo MančevskiMOTHERS at SFF 17!NarratologyNon-fictionPerson CareerPerson LocationReporterthe 17th Sarajevo International Film FestivalTorontoToronto International Film FestivalVanessa McMahon JuneVanessa McMahon MilchoNewsTue, 26 Jul 2011 08:03:08 +0000Sarajevo Film Festival135079 at https://www.filmfestivals.comSarajevo Film Festival July 22-31https://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/sarajevo_film_festival/sarajevo_film_festival_july_22_31
<p>From SFF official site:
</p><p>The Festival</p>
<p>The 17th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from 22nd till 30th July, 2011.</p>
<p>After the 4-year-long siege of Sarajevo, and with an intention to recreate civil society of the City, in 1995, we founded the Sarajevo Film Festival. Today, we are proud to say that Sarajevo Film Festival represents the main meeting place for all regional producers and authors and is recognized by film professionals from all over the world as the pinnacle point for networking for all wishing to learn more about the possibilities this region has to offer.</p>
<p>Festival ProgrammeThe Sarajevo Film Festival present a wide programme selection of both competitive and non-competitive films. Sarajevo Film Festival Competition program is accredited by FIAPF as a Competitive Specialized Festival. </p>
<p>read more here: </p>
<p><a href="http://www.sff.ba/content.php/en/festival_2009?site=sff" title="www.sff.ba/content.php/en/festival_2009?site=sff">www.sff.ba/content.php/en/festival_2009?site=sff</a></p>
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